And here it is, the long awaited Silver Gospel Arc! Enjoy and review. Your review helps me to be a better writter.
Read them and weep!
Ch21 The Fallen Angel Crossed Blades with the Rising Dragon.
"So this is Akatsubaki…impressive." Ichika muttered as he looked at Houki test-driving her new IS.
It was the second day of the Seaside trip, the personal IS group was watching a live test run of Tabane's latest IS, the Akatsubaki piloted by Houki.
The crimson I.S was marvelous, a perfect collaboration of power and elegance. With a single glance Ichika knew that this I.S is something that Tabane build solely for Houki as the IS perfectly suited Houki's fighting style. "I wonder if this IS meant to be a unit that rivals my Masurao…"
"Do not worry my master. Unlike my youngest sister here I, Masurao, am truly the strongest under the heavens." Masurao reassured as she whispered her praise and assurance into my ears.
"I do not fear you being weaker, I am just wondering…Tabane-nee never makes anything without a deeper purpose…If she made that IS with the thought of making us a pair, then that means it is made to fight alongside me…or to defeat me…I just want to find out how I match up against it."
Right now Tabane-nee, who by the way appeared with a puff of smoke and literally crashed into our lesson, is configuring the Akatsubaki to fit Houki. Her fingers became a blur as they typed across the keyboard.
"Oh oh! Ik-kun, can you show me how Masurao has been doing? That girl is so temperamental she doesn't do what mama asks her to." Tabane asked while she was typing up a storm without looking at the keyboard.
"Sorry, Tabane-nee. She doesn't want to see you right now." Ichika said as he relayed the message.
"Ah! Phooey! That girl is so ungrateful, I even went as far as to bring Aka-chan to meet her older sister, but she is playing the lone wolf big sister act." Tabane pouted, never stopping her typeing.
"I'll let her know your displeasure." Ichika said to compromise, but in his head he could still hear Masurao grinding her teeth.
"A-Ano! I heard of Professor Shinonono before. If possible, could you please check my IS?" Cecilia asked in an eager voice. Most likely, she felt excited about seeing the famous Tabane-san in front of her as her eyes were glowing exceptionally. However…
"This is going be cold like a blizzard." I thought to myself as Masurao agreed. We both knew what kind of distorted person Tabane-nee was.
"Ah? Who are you? I don't recognize some blond person. And right now, it's a touching reunion with Houki-chan, Chi-chan and Ik-kun after so many years. I don't know why are you interrupting me. Who are you anyway?"
As expected her tone, her words, her eyes and even her aura got cold.
"Huh, that..."
"Shut up and move aside." That moment she released a subtle and cold 'sei' Ki. For a brief moment Yukihana, Chifuyu, and Ichika saw a glimpse of a female priestess in a white robe while holding a sword and a book. This was Tabane's killing intent given form!
"Uu..."
After being rejected, Cecilia backed away while looking completely distraught. She was not a fighter so she didn't see any images like all the other fighters did, but her senses told her to back off. The harsh rejection and inability to even argue with Tabane made her eyes tear up.
"I-Ichika-san…" Cecilia sobbed and Ichika stepped forward to pat her head in comfort.
"There, there…She is only barking, not biting Cecilia." Too bad her bark is worse than the dog's.
"My my… this person hasn't changed at all..."
Once Ichika have asked Tabane why she reacted like that and this is how she answered.
"I can't tell the difference between humans. The only people I know are Houki-chan, Chi-chan and Ik-kun. Papa and mama may count as well. Ufufu, that's because I have no interest in other people at all!"
That's why Tabane-san treated everyone else besides us like that. Nevertheless, well…she did improve in this case…She used to outright ignore other people before. I guess my sister was able to drill in some common sense into her after all the beatings she inflicted on her friend.
"Ok! Houki-chan I am all done! You can give it a test run!" Tabane cheered.
Houki's IS detached all the wires and plugs that were attached to the IS as it hummed to power up. Houki gave it a slight push with her mind as The IS sailed into the air.
"WAH!"
The sudden acceleration caused shockwaves that made the sand dance about. Ichika immediately turned to Masurao within him to analyze the speed the Akatsubaki flew off in.
"Masurao! The speed level?"
"It is…It is…Over 800 mph!"
Oh? It packed quite a punch. That is a little above mach 1 and that's most definitely not her full speed. Masurao can do that as well, but to think Houki was able to do that effortlessly.
"How is it? Much more mobile than Houki-chan expected?" Tabane asked with a smile on her face.
"Mn...yeah, sort of..."
"Then try swinging your swords. The right one is Amatsuki(Rainy Moon), and the left one is Karaware(Cracked Sky). I'm going to send the special data of the weapons over!"
After saying that, Tabane-san let her fingers dance in the air. Having received the weapon data, Houki drew both swords with a sweeping motion. Even a glimpse of the swords alone told Ichika that they were a pair of well-crafted swords that might even surpass his Byakushiki and Kuroshiki.
"Let's add on Tabane-onee-chan's explanation~ !Amatsuki is best used to attack a single person. The blade will create an energy blade when it attacks. It can turn an enemy into a beehive if it's used consecutively! It's a wonderful weapon~ the range is about as far as an assault rifle, no? It can't reach the range of a sniper rifle, but it's balanced out by the speed of Akatsubaki."
Everyone listened carefully to the 4th gen IS' weaponry as Houki got ready to swing the blade. She raised her right hand to her left shoulder into the Shinonono-nitoryu kendo style -the shield-sword style. It was a position that could easily turn defense into attack, using the force of the attack to counter.
"Hyaahhh!"
VOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSHHHHH!
As the blade swung out, the surrounding space let out several red lasers, forming a ball-shape. They then formed bullets of light and pierced out several holes in the clouds in the air.
"A ranged beam attack?"
"Don't worry master, our Byakushiki is more than match for it."
"The next one's Karaware. It's a weapon used to deal with a group, and can launch a shaped attack with the slash! It can extend its range when it's swung, so it's super useful. Try hitting some of these here!"
After saying that, Tabane-san summoned a 16-missile pod firing machine from her…walking lab IS. As the lights gathered and formed it, it shot out its missiles.
"Houki!"
"-Don't worry! If it's this Akatsubaki…"
Like what Houki said, she swung the Karaware, which was tucked under her right armpit, one round. The red lasers extended out just like Tabane-san said, taking out all 16 missiles.
"A sword capable of shatter shot and a long range high cutting powered sword…Her twin swords are opposite of my own. Mine is supreme in close combat, and yet her swords can be used in long range…interesting." Ichika thought he rubbed his chin.
Gradually appearing from the smoke of the explosion, Houki and her red IS looked as imposing as ever. Her red armor truly suited her samurai image.
Everyone present looked stunned and mesmerized by the overwhelming outcome in front of them, unable to say anything. Tabane seemed satisfied as she looked at the scene in front of her, nodding away.
"..."
However, only one person was staring at Tabane-san sternly.
That person was-
"Chifuyu-nee...? Why would she show such expression? It's almost like she's looking at an enemy." Ichika wondered with raised eyebrows. This was food for thought. While he knew Tabane better than most people could claim, but if there is anyone that stands in front of Tabane as an equal it's Orimura Chifuyu …Whatever she realized or suspected, he hopes it is nothing big.
"TH-THI-THIS IS BAD! O-ORI-ORIMURA-SENSEI!"
Hmmm? Yamada-sensei? What is she panicking for?
The sudden voice of Yamada-sensei caused Chifuyu-nee to keep her sharp eyes and turn to her. Though Yamada-sensei's normally panicking, it felt different this time. Her tone was graver and her form was not bubbly at all, Yama-pi was very serious, like that time when she sparred with Cecilia and Rin.
"What's wrong?"
"Pl-Plea-Please look at this."
On seeing, the visual image that Yamada-sensei passed over, Chifuyu-nee's face darkened. That meant someone had done something so stupid, that it was going to make a big, big mess.
"Class A special mission and a request to deal with it immediately..."
"Th-That's...located at the Hawaiian research-"
"Shh! Don't leak confidential information. The students will hear it."
"So-Sorry..."
"The pilot of the personal IS?"
"One-One's missing. The rest are present."
Chifuyu-nee and Yamada-sensei seemed to be discussing something in a soft voice. Once they noticed several students looking at them, they started using hand signals instead.
"Uu, not a normal sign language...is that a military related hand signal? Let's see…Need to…order?...student…combat….Uh what?" Oh by the way, Ichika was used to see those hand signs from when Chifuyu had been the representative of Japan. He could roughly guess what the conversation was about.
Someone did something very stupid…that's what.
"I-I'll contact the other teachers then."
"Got it-EVERYONE PAY ATTENTION!"
After Yamada-sensei ran away, Chifuyu-nee clapped twice to gain everyone's attention.
"The IS Academy teachers are now going to carry out a special mission, so today's testing will be over. Every class is to keep the IS's and return back to the resort. You are to remain in your own rooms. That's all!"
"Huh...?"
"End? Why? The special mission is..."
"I don't understand at all..."
The unexpected situation caused the girls to chatter away.
But Chifuyu-nee roared,
"EVERYONE IS TO HURRY UP AND HEAD BACK! WHOEVER IS OUT WITHOUT PERMISSION WILL BE LOCKED UP! AM I CLEAR!"
"""YE-YES!"""
Everyone started moving frantically, removing the equipment on their bodies, shutting down the activated IS's and putting them on the vehicles. It seemed that her roar scared them.
"Personal IS pilots are to gather! Orimura, Sanada, Alcott, Dunois, Bodewig, Huang, and...Shinonono!"
"""""HAI!"""""""
"But is it...really alright...? She just got it and she is not used to high speed combat…Well, it is not like she will be on a mission or anything."
I would be eating my words very soon…How troublesome.
(Ichika POV)
"Now, let me explain the situation." Chifuyu-nee said in her serious tone…Which her normal tone is.
All the personal IS users and teachers were in a large room with many computers set up. It was a war council. Next to me was my faithful samurai Kojuro as he rushed here as soon as I summoned him.
The loyal samurai kneeled behind me to protect my back as always and his focus was on the screen and on his phone where his informants were relaying all their findings…it seemed whatever was happening was not good at all.
"There's news that 2 hours ago, the Silver Gospel, a 3rd generation military use IS that was developed by both America and Israel, went out of control in the testing facility in Hawaii and left the surveillance facility." Chifuyu-nee explained with a serious expression. All the IS users in the room piped down as they listened carefully.
So, a weapon made for war is on the loose…I wonder…
I turned to see my country representative friends for their reaction…
"..."
All of them were looking serious.
Everyone else other than Houki, Yukihana, and I were official representatives of other countries, so maybe they've received training for this kind of situation. Laura's eyes were looking exceptionally serious.
"After that, through satellite tracking, we found that the Gospel will enter our air space, 2 km from here. That will happen approximately 50 minutes from now. Thus, according to the Academy's higher-ups jurisdiction, we have to deal with this situation." Chifuyu-nee said calmly. "All staff members please use the Academy's training suits to seal off the air space and sea. The main operation will be done by personal IS users."
Ho? This was getting even more interesting…
"Next, we'll be beginning the planning of the battle. Anyone with doubts, please raise your hand."
"Yes." Cecilia immediately raised her hand, "Please explain the specs and data of the target IS." Cecilia asked in a rather serious tone. It seems our little noble lady is ready for war.
"I understand. However, these are the highest military secrets of those two countries, so it definitely can't be revealed. Once the data's revealed, the parties involved will be court-martialed, and they'll have to take at least 2 years of probation."
"I understand."
"…Cecilia... Send me the data …Send them to Yukihana and Houki as well."
"B-But Ichika-san, the probation is…"
"You will have to tie me down to the bed with iron shackles to keep me from fighting…Even if you guys don't tell me, I will fight anyway, so whether I fight blind or not is up to you…I just know I will have a lot of fun today."
"…Mou…If you get in trouble and me with it, then you owe me."
Cecilia pouted as she sent me the data. I nodded in appreciation as I looked over the data with Kojuro.
"Hmm…It's a unique long ranged type that's designed to clear the area...it seems that it can launch a full-scale attack. Its power level and potential is enormous." I said as I read the data.
"By the looks of it, it lacks close range combat ability." Kojuro muttered.
"Don't be so sure Katakura-dono, it might have other functions or melee capability somewhere…But we can capitalize on its lack of obvious close range ability with our own." Yukihana suggested as she too looked over the data.
"It seems it is an opponent I might need my 'Striker Pack.' Cecilia said as she pondered as well.
"It's frame has enhanced attack and mobility. That is tough. And the specs are better than my Shenlong, so the opponent has a slight advantage..." Rin said while chewing on her finger. It seems Shenlong was unsuited for this speed demon.
"This unique armor seems to be tough to handle. My country sent a few Revive defensive equipment over, but I do feel that it's tough to defend against them consecutively."
"And looking at these figures, its fighting capability is still an unknown variable. The technology it has is also unknown. Can't we investigate it anyway?"
"Can't be helped. This machine is still moving at a supersonic speed. The maximum velocity it has is over 2450kmh, so there's only one chance." Chifuyu-nee said with her arms folded.
"Only one chance...that means… we can only launch a suit with a sure-kill attack, right?"
After hearing Yamada-sensei's words, I turned to Yukihana.
"Huh...?" she let out as she saw my stare.
"Yukihana's Gae Buhide and Gae Dearg…Along with my Yukihana Akatsuki…Out barrier void attacks should work."
"That's the case. However, the problem is…"
"How are we going to send Ichika and Sanada-san there? It'll be hard for us to succeed if we don't focus on the attack, but how are we going to move there?"
"And we have to catch up with a fast moving IS. The super sensors are important, right?"
"I am confident my Masurao is peerless in high speed combat, I'll deal with it."
"Very good. Now, let us discuss the detail of this battle plan. Amongst you pilots, who has the speed to keep up with Gospel and Masurao?"
"My Blue Tears. It just so happened that the Strike Gunner England sent over had a high-capability sensor equipped with it as well."
"Alcott, how long have you been training under supersonic mode?"
"20 hours." Cecilia said with a hint of pride.
"U...that's indeed suitable—"
Chifuyu-nee got ready to end this planning, only to be interrupted by a super energetic voice.
"HOLD ON, HOLD ON! STOP WITH THAT STRATEGY~EEEKKK!"
Suddenly a voice came from the ceiling and Yukihana and I hastily threw our respective spears and swords at it…Everyone looked up to see Tabane-san's head appearing upside down from the ceiling narrowly missing the sharp metal.
"GOD DAMN IT WOMAN! DON'T SNEAK AROUND ME LIKE THAT!" I scolded my sister's oldest friends as I took my katana back. This woman is no fighter, but she has stealth as no other…She even managed to break through my instinct senses and Yukihana's presence senses.
"...Yamada-sensei, please forcefully escort that person out."
"Huh? Ye-Yes! Ah, Professor Shinonono, please get down here first."
I ignored the chaos around me as I stood up and summoned another one of my katana.
"Yamada-sensei, please take a step back."
"huh?"
Sssshheeeennnnggg! Sssshheeeennnnggg! Sssshheeeennnnggg!
"OWWAAHH!" let out Tabane-nee as she fell down from the ceiling as my slashes cut open a large hole for her to fall down from. I sheathed my sword and sat back down.
"Mouuu…Ik-Kun is a meanie!"
"If I didn't you would have done something stupid like shouting out 'Tou' and jumped down with a summersault and lean towards my sis in an annoying manner, right?"
"…"
"No comments huh." I said with a victorious snort.
Tabane pouted, but she immediately brightened up as she leaned towards my sister as I expected and rubbed her hair against Chifuyu-nee's hand, which was holding her back.
"Chi-chan Chi-chan, my brain's now printing an even more brilliant plan!"
"...Get out."
"No no no! Listen to me! This is de-fi-na-tely the time for Akatsubaki's debut!" Tabane said as she continued to rube her head against Chifuyu-nee in cat like manner.
"What?"
"Look at Akatsubaki's specs! It can fly at supersonic speeds even without additional packets." As if responding to Tabane-san's words, screens appeared around Chifuyu-nee. The screen showed Akatsubaki's spec and all the potential it had.
"Adjusting Akatsubaki's Fold-Out Armor...change change change! See? The speed will be great now!"
"Fold-Out Armor? What's that?" asked one of the girls.
"Let me explain. Here it comes~ this so-called Fold-Out Armor will be the 4th Generation frame's equipment that this genius developed for the 4th generation IS!"
Yondai (Fourth)...IS…?
How impressive! This genius is truly one of a kind. The generations of IS each has a special meaning and goal, but she already made the next goal for the world to reach for!
The Shodai (1st) generation frames were aimed to 'complete the IS'. This was when having an IS armor that moved was an accomplishment in itself.
The Nidai(2nd) generation was to 'diversify according to the different equipment'. This was when armors and equipment such as weapons, boosters, special sensor, and such things were the main goal.
Next, the Sandai (3rd) generation carried unique weapons that were controlled by the pilot's imagination', such as air-compressed weapons for Shenglong, BITs for Blue Tears, and AIC for Schwarzer Regen. My Masurao also has 3rd gen weaponry. The imagination to control my beam saber in any form, the Yukihira Akatsuki, the alteration of information and stealth, the Three Unknown Treasures, and Ability to evolve faster than any other. This makes my IS very powerful. In addition, I too have this Fold Out armor on my IS. The Hover Board equipment, The Gordius Wheel has these special parts on it and my Yukihira Akatsuki has them as well…So it makes my IS part of the Yondai(Fourth) Gen IS.
"Fufufu, I think you all know what first to third generation IS are aiming for, but 4th gen is completely different. The 4th generation aim for 'All purpose IS with no need for changing equipment.' This idea is relatively new and incomplete, but that is what I am aiming for."
"Amazing…All the world countries are aiming to complete 3rd generation, but you already surpassed that…This is madness and yet it exist in front of me…" Kojuro exclaimed with awe and respect.
"Fufufu, this Tabane-san isn't just an ordinary genius! This is just an appetizer from me!" Tabane-nee said as she turned to me.
"As you know Ik-kun, this system was added to your Masurao and thanks to its developments Akatsubaki's entire armor is made with the Fold-Out Armor! When the system's at its maximum ability, the specs will double !" Tabane shouted with a childish cheer, but I felt a hint of worry…I don't know the reason though.
"Ho-Hold, hold on a minute. Huh? Whole body? The armor's the same as Ichika-san's sword? That means..." Cecilia trailed off with her eyes widen in fear.
"Yup, it's invincible! Anyway, it's the strongest."
Everyone present is dumbfounded. The only one who didn't respond is likely Chifuyu-nee and me. I don't know why Chifuyu-nee is not responding positively, but Masurao was rather…pissed off.
"THAT IS LOAD OF HORSE SHIT! THERE IS NO WAY THAT HALF PINT I.S IS BETTER THAN ME!" the red haired spirit of my IS said as she materialized.
Her red hairs were flying slightly as she made her displeasure known. "MASTER! LET ME FIGHT HER! I WILL SHOW THAT SHINY THERE THAT I AM THE STRONGEST! I AM THE BEST!" Masurao turned to Houki…no, more like to the bells hanging on her headband. "DO YOU FUCK'N HEAR ME AKATSUBAKI! HEY! WHEN YOUR OLDER SIBLING IS TALKING TO YOU, YOU RESPOND DAMN IT!"
It seems Tabane-nee's words wounded Masurao's pride as the strongest.
"Ara? Is that you Masurao-chan? Oh my, you have gotten so big! And you kinda look like Chi-chan! Was it for Ik-kun?"
"Shut it Mom~" Masurao droned is a mocking tone. "Since when the hell did I allow you to speak to me like that huh?"
"Arararara? What bad manners. Is that how I raised you?"
"You tell me? I am who I am! Don't believe I am like the others, who hold you in high regards MOM! I don't need you or Anyone else! My master and I are Tenkasaikyo(Strongest in the World!) Trust me; you are an old lady with no juice left now! There is no IS that will be stronger than me!"
Tabane-nee's cool and airhead like aura turned cold at the 'old' comment, but it vanished like it was never even there.
"You shouldn't curse like that Masurao-chan, especially to your mother. You are the oldest core, so you need to look after all your siblings! Akatsubaki is the youngest, so you need to take care of her."
"You are smoking something strong if you think I will old lady!( Twitch of angry mark on both women's(Chifuyu is the same age) head) I already beat up Blue Tears, Shenlong, Schwarzer Regen, a lot of Revives and Uchiganes! I am the best and remain on the top! If I need to I will beat up that whiney Akatsubaki and-"suddenly Masurao's form flickered and was reabsorbed into my black dragon bracelet.
It was because I found out how to force Masurao back into her domain, before this could get any messier. It was a tough job, but I have the power in the end.
The room in result became very silent.
…
…
…
"So…What is the battle plan?"
(A few minutes later)
(Normal POV)
Everyone was now sitting down to listen to Tabane's plan to use Masurao and Akatsubaki's Fold Out armor ability to fly to the Silver Gospel, ambush him, and finish him off with the Yukihira. On textbook, this plan was simple and easy, but…Not so much in reality.
"Kojuro…A secondary plan." Ichika commanded to his fateful samurai.
"Hai…The idea of using the two 4th Gen IS to intercept the target is a great idea; however there is the problem with weaponry…. The target is equipped with long range bombardment and it is unsafe to send in two close range IS, even if they can compensate for it…Also the idea that the sure kill can only be performed by Ichika-sama is untrue…How about this."
Kojuro stood up and drawn something on the planning board.
"This mission will be conducted by 4 people. Ichika-sama, Shinonono-san, Sanada-san, and Alcott-san. Alcott-san and Sanada-san will ride with either Shinonono or Ichika-sama and get to the target as well. Alcott-san's Striker Pack may allow her to fly fast, but it will not be enough to keep up with the two 4th generation frames, so Alcott-san ride with one of them please."
"Hai."
"By the way the Gordius Wheel can be attached on Ichika-sama's back and someone else can ride on his back in return. Same thing for Shinonono."
Kojuro typed some stuff on the computer he brought and the screen changed with some images of our four IS in a pair.
"When the battle begins, Sanada with her Uchigane-custom can ride the Gordius Wheel, since she doesn't have proper flight equipment for long term mid-air combat and Masurao can fight and fly without Gordius Wheel. Blue Tears can give covering fire and ranged support together with the Gordius Wheel. Masurao and Akatsubaki will move in two cooperative tactics to pin down the rogue. As the battle progresses, we will have two sure kill chances from Sanada and Ichika-sama. One way or another one of you two will take point and go in for the kill."
Ichika nodded to Kojuro's improved version of Tabane's suggestion of two vs one battle scenario.
He turned to Tabane. "Any objections?"
"…Nope." Tabane answered, but Ichika saw Chifuyu-nee narrowing her eyes…it seems she too noticed the very subtle sign of annoyance from Tabane-nee…
"*PAN!* Chifuyu-nee clapped her hands, and the teachers got ready to prepare the necessary machinery.
"Those with nothing to do are to help move the equipment or do anything else they can help with. Orimura, Sanada, Shinonono, and Alcott will deploy as soon as Akatsubaki and Masurao are reconfigured for high-speed travel. The operation commences at 11:30am sharp!"
"I understand, Orimura-dono."
"Wakarima-desu-wa"
"Sure Nee-chan."
"Hai!"
…Was Houki's cry more energetic then ever?
The time was 11:30am.
The July sky was as clear as ever, and the strong sunlight lighted the land.
Standing slightly apart from each other, Yukihana, Cecilia, Houki and Ichika were on the beach. They were each in their IS suit. Ichika in his new black, armored, and decorated suit stood out among the sea of dark grey and blue suits the girls were using. After glancing at each other once, they nodded their heads.
Yukihana grabbed onto the six coin necklace around her neck. The six ancient coins, symbol of Sanada of the past glowed in red light.
Cecilia tapped her earring, glowing in a light blue color.
Houki put her hand on her hair where a pair of bells tied to her white hair band was located. The twin bells let off a red glow as they lighted up.
Ichika held his arm up where his black dragon bracelet was and it glowed slightly in a red light and shrouded itself in black mist.
"Ride gallantly! Uchigane Wakatora!"
"Display Valiantly! Blue Tears!"
"Dance among the fallen leaves! Akatsubaki!"
"Trample and Conquer! Masurao!"
With a glow of light all four IS armor formed around their bodies in pieces. In less than a second, they were armed and ready. Ichika turned to the girls.
"Ready?"
"Yes!"
Houki had an unhappy expression as she stepped back.
Yukihana and Cecilia turned to face each other. They took a step back and glared. They twisted their hips to the side and raised their hands.
""""Loser has no regret no matter the result! Jan ken pon! Draw! AGAIN! DRAW! AGAIN! DRAW! AGAIN! DRAW! AGAIN! DRAW! AGAIN! DRAW! AGAIN!""""
"YES! THE MIGHTY ROCK PREVEALS!" Yukihana exclaimed as she pumped her fist in the air with a cute hop. In exchange Cecilia was on her knee with looking upset. She punched the floor at her defeat.
"Kusoo…Why did I use a scissor…" lamented Cecilia as she pound the ground with her IS fist and the sand danced around by the impact.
"You girls do know that this is a military operation right? Chifuyu-nee might kill you for wasting time." Said Ichika as he shook his head.
The original plan for this operation requires Yukihana to ride on his Gordius Wheel, because of the major flaw in her Uchigane Wakatora, however these two are playing Ja-Ken-Po to pick who to ride with.
"Wahahahaha! Ichika-dono! You may not know but to a maiden battlefield are not limited to warzone alone. Some battle must be concluded under the gaze of men." Said Yukihana with a cheer and broad smile on her face. At least her mood is great.
"Is that true Houki?" He asked his oldest friend.
"H-How should I know you idiot! It is your falut for playing along with them."
Oya oya…She is upset now.
"Alright! You is riding with who? (I am with Ichika-dono!) Fine! Yukihana on me. Cecilia, go to Houki." commanded Ichika as his commandering side surfaced. His eyes are focused and all playfulness gone from his form.
After a few minutes, the girls got on his and Houki back. The first part of the mission was transporting to the Silver G, for a one hit kill. To do this, the Gordius Wheel's GN-Drive was reconfigured to imitate his One off Ability, the Shunko, to a minor degree in increased speed.
While the mission plan didn't seem to suit Houki's taste, she seemed to be in a real good mood…Ichika understood why. She finally had a power worth using to match her skill, but her excitement had made him… worry…It was as if this were her first fight or something. Ridiculous! Houki was experienced in matches and fights in her own way…She wouldn't make any silly mistakes right?
"Orimura, Shinonono, can you hear me?" Chifuyu-nee's voice could be heard from the IS public channel.
"The main emphasis of this plan is to take it out in one strike. Remember, we have to win in a short timeframe. You two are the vanguard while Sanada is secondary support in case Orimura fails and Alcott is long-range support. In the end the majority of the fight will be handled by Orimura."
"As if this Doukugan Ryu will fail."
"Leave the long range cover to me, I am after all the Sora no Me-no desu wa."
"I am all fired up! Burn my spirit!"
"Orimura-sensei, I just need to support Ichika according to the situation, right?"
"Yes, but you don't have to force yourself. That personal IS you just got has not been used in combat. Maybe something might crop up."
"I understand. I'll provide assistance as much as I can."
"Even though she sounded really calm, Houki sounded really happy, or rather, too happy. Hopefully, it's just me worrying too much... "Ichika thought as he crossed his arms over his chest.
(Inn/Command center)
"Hey, isn't she being too excited?" Rin asked.
"…Maybe…It is not surprising since she just got her own personal IS…But her attitude toward the mission is…" Charl replied in unsettling tone. Next to her Laura silently looked at the screen.
"While confidence is important, overconfidence is one's greatest enemy…I hope Shinonono-dono's excitement does not affect my lord in any negative ways." Kojuro muttered as she sat next to Yamada Maya to observe and keep track of the situation.
Chifuyu's face turned grim as she tapped the Bluetooth in her ear and changed the frequency to private channel.
"…Orimura."
"Ah." Ichika was startled from hearing his sister's voice out of nowhere.
"I am in the private channel, Shinonono, Sanada, and Alcott cannot hear us."
Ichika slowly nodded.
"I can't tell if you nod or not baka."
Oh…I see, I see. "So what do you need to say that is so important you have to use a private channel?"
"Shinonono seems to be a little excited. Something may pop up in that situation. If anything happens, support her."
"I noticed it too…Hopefully it is just excitement."
"I'll leave it to you then."
Chifuyu-nee switched her voice back to the public channel and gave the order,
"Begin the operation!"
*(Ichika POV)*
The four of us, more like Houki and I carrying the other two, blasted off into the sky. For this mission to work, Gordius Wheel was detached from my feet and reattached to my back with Uchigane Wakatora on top of it.
Yukihana held on to the glider for her dear life and looked ahead as my red mane, the Akakami, flipped and swayed against the harsh wind. The jamming and cloak system recently added my teammates IFF and signal codes as friendly to avoid jamming them as well. It was a new experience for the girls as their systems were not going fuzzy and jammed by being near Ichika's Masurao.
The four friends blasted into the sky at 300mph and headed toward their target at breakneck speed.
"Confirming satellite link...information check's complete. Confirming the target's current location—Ichika, let's go!" said Houki.
"Roger that. Yukihana! Cecilia you girls ready?"
"Ryokai!"
"Hai-deshu!"
…Beep! Beep!..."The target is not far from here. Increasing booster. Activating the Fold Out armor!"
Houki warned as she continued to increase Akatsubaki's speed. The legs and back parts sprayed out powerful energy, as to be expected of the [Fold-Out Armor].
"I see it, Ichika! Transferring the scene to your screen." Houki said while transferring the image to us.
"!"
The Hyper Sensors' visuals showed the target as if I was seeing it with my own eyes.
As the name indicates, the Silver Gospel was covered in silver with angel like features. Its silver armor and its artistic shape made the IS look very beautiful.
The strangest parts were the huge wings extending out from its head. According to the data, the silver-glowing wings as shiny as the main body seemed to have a lot of large boosters and wide-ranged shooting weapons.
Seeing it had no weapon in its hand, the option of that IS blocking our surprise attack beside the Absolute Barrier effectively was low.
"Alright, we are going to reach the target in 30 seconds. Cecilia! Detach!"
"Hai!" with a shout of acknowledgement she let go of Houki's back and was left behind as she got into long range sniping mode.
"Yukihana! I am detaching the Gordius Wheel! Activating [Bridle of Chivalry!]"
"Roger that!"
The Bridle of Chivalrywas a special program added to the hovercraft, which allowed for another person to have control over it. The IS Support Vehicle was still under Tama's control, but this let Yukihana who was registered in the record to call for it to assist her. It connected with her mind via IS information Exchange Channel and allowed her to use my hovercraft easily.
"LET'S GO! HOUKI! KEEP UP!"
"JUST WHO DO YOU THINK I AM!"
I flew right at the silver IS and Houki got to its other side. I felt the firmness of the anti-IS katana in his hand as the red mane of the Akakami swayed around my back like real hair. My form must have been a sight to see as I ambushed from above like a red demon from hell. At once, we surrounded it from two sides with our own pair of twin swords in hand.
"""WE WILL BE TAKING YOUR HEAD!""" the two of us declared as we slashed at the rogue IS. The rogue immediately spun around to face us and blocked the incoming strike with its arm, but it was ok. I ground both Shiki kyodai against its arm to hold him in place.
"YUKIHANA!"
"OHHHHHHH!" roared out Yukihana as she rode toward the Silver Gospel with her two lances in hand. This was the basic strategy. While Houki and I held the rogue down, Yukihana would come in for her Nigeki Hitsatsu(Death in Two Strike).
Beeepp! Beeep! Beeppp! pi!
The Silver IS let out those sounds as it suddenly turned around to knock Houki and me away and instantly descended to avoid Yukihana's thrust attack. Its agile movement caught Yukihana off guard as she missed.
"Damn it!"
"Cecilia!" I called out.
"There is no problem." Cecilia replied as she sniped at the Silver IS from a distance. Trails of blue laser aimed at the rogue, but the winged IS dodged the incoming shots with ease. Duck! Slide! Ascend! Its movement was not mechanical like the Unmanned IS, this rogue was moving in skillful manner that speaks volumes…It seemed it was using the real skill from its unconscious user.
"Enemy suit confirmed. Switching into counterattacking mode. [Silver Gospel], movement start." A mechanical voice could be heard from the public channel.
"Oh? So it is getting serious huh…Our one hit K.O strategy is ruined, so pin it down and drain its power!(ROGER!)"
I blasted forward with 2 swords in my hands. Silver Gospel responded by spreading its wings and flapping them.
"Activating…[Silver Bell]." Said the Gospel as it launched the bullets of blue lights at blue beams came at me like falling rain. I immediately dodged them by dashing to the side. My red mane trailed behind me alongside my track of red dust as the GN-Particles filled the very air around me. I swung my swords in a rapid pace and watched my twin katana knocking the enemy's bombardment away.
In the corner of my eye, I saw Houki doing the same with her graceful mastery of Shinonono Nitouryu. On the other hand, Cecilia was far enough to simple dodge and Yukihana twirled and spun her cursed lances in an artistic fashion that not even my Knight of Honor could imitate. Her energy dispersing red lance, the Gae Dearg, was especially effective in canceling the Silver Bells.
"What the!"
"Is that the offensive attack?"
"It's so many! The sheer number nearly overwhelmed us!"
"Cecilia! Cover us!"
"Hai!"
The Sora no Me fired at the Silver Gospel from a distance. As if recognizing the threat, Silver Gospel dodged and avoided the sharp bolt of lights, however...
Beeepp!
It seemed the energy bolts used by S.G were a long ranged weapon too. It had the same range as Cecilia's, but it had more in quantity. Cecilia skillfully shot as she avoided them, but she soon had to focus more on dodging than shooting because of the sheer number of energy bullets aimed at not only her, but also the rest of us.
This Silver Gospel…It was a real Anti-Army IS, even more so than Cecilia's Blue Tear which was made for Anti-Army combat as well…. This was not going to be easy, but it wasn't over yet…If these two are Army Killers than Masurao and I are Hero Killers, a special brand of hell that can knock down everything from Aces to Fortresses…And everything inbetween and beyond them as well.
"Hahhhhh!" the Tiger's Cub roared as she opened fire from the flying hovercraft. Luminous Cannons' high-level energy blasts nearly hit the rogue IS, however it dodged by flipping down and sailing downward. Yukihana gave chase as she used the hovercrafts beam cannons and the M-15 mini guns. The trail of green beam blasts and hot metal shells followed Gospel, but they failed to hit the fast moving silver machine.
"Houki! We are going after it!"
"Roger!"
I brandished my white sword and its twin the black sword in my hands as I blasted forward. My speed was my greatest ability. With my speed, I could overtake anyone. I saw the Gospel barrel rolling to avoid Yukihana's rush attack and saw it expose its side in my direction.
"That opening is as good as any other!" I declared as I focused my boosters for a sharp and brief ignition to propel me forward.
I managed to overtake the Gospel and engaged in a close-ranged battle. I held my Kuroshiki in reverse grip as I slashed at the Gospel's head, but in a graceful manner that required much skill even with the [Passive Inertial Canceller] Gospel avoided it by twisting its body to the left. The rogue spread its wings to catch the winds, falling back on data of the general area of my location as it could not get a lock-on on Masurao because of its Stealth Field and Particle Jammers.
Thank god for the Akakami and Akakiri.
The rogue fired off more of its laser attacks, but I used my anti-beam katana, the Byakushiki, to block them. I twirled and spun as I deflected the offensive attacks, but their numbers were overwhelming. One of the beams managed to get a direct path toward me, so I could not deflect it…I needed to block it head on!
I held the white sword in a guard stance with the flat side of the blade facing the enemy. As soon as the bolt of blue light came too close, I swung up to block it. My hand jerked at the force behind the beam attack, however instead of being cut away by the anti-beam sword, the energy bullet exploded in front of me.
Boooooooooooooom!
"What?"
An explosive round? That makes my Anti-beam sword less effective than normal!
Gospel opened fire again and this time the energy bolts changed direction and curved! This person had some seriously unfair weapons!
I demonstrated some impressive flying skills, but it was rather hard to come out without a scratch.
This time I blasted forward with my red particles leaving a trail of red lights. In a messy zig zag motion I managed to break through the hastily fired barrages with minimal damage and most credit went to Cecilia's excellent covering fire. By the time I managed to get in close range to the Gospel, the rogue IS raised its arm to block my downward slash.
Clank!
The sparks of fire and electricity flew as my katana grinded against the Gospel's silver armor. I removed the sword, but didn't disengage as I slashed back and forth with both blades in a rapid and trained manner.
Clank! Clank! clank!
The red shroud of the unknown hid my body from the rogue. It effectively allowed me to land several blows when the Gospel couldn't recognize and determine the direction of the sword strike thanks to the Akakiri hampering its vision and Akakami jamming its analysis systems and lock-on programs. However, as if the hindrances meant nothing to it, the Gospel disengaged in an impressive maneuver and opened fire once again from its silver wings.
"Kshh! How bothersome!" As I was holding the silver IS back, behind the enemy IS appeared my back up.
"HAHH!" Houki yelled out as her Fold Out Armor rearranged itself for combat and her two katana appeared in her hands. She slashed the Gospel from its blindside, but the nimble IS dodged it by sliding to the side in mid-air. However thanks to its maneuver it placed itself in Cecilia's line of fire.
"PEEEW!"
Booom!
It was a direct hit!
Unfortunately, Gospel was unscathed and spun around in a graceful spin to fire a massive amount of explosive beams at us. Houki and I desperately swung our blades to block, but it was too much. Some stray shots got us and we were covered by the smoke of the explosions.
"Damn it!"
"This one is rather good."
The two of us got out of the smoke to see Sliver Gospel dancing around Cecilia's barrage attacks from afar and even dodging the mini-guns and beam cannons on the Gordius Wheel from Yukihana. This Silver Gospel was nothing like that first Unmanned IS which only ever counter-attacked, nor was it like that juggernaut of an IS Fortress, Siegfried. This one was not as bulky and it was armed with speed and long range weapons that outclassed any other opponents.
"Ichika-san!"
"Are you ok?"
"We are fine! Pin that thing down!" I yelled out as I flew towards the enemy IS. I swiped at it few times with both swords; however, the long range IS refused to stay close enough to hit it.
Beeeep?
The IS flew right up into the air as it stared at us. Suddenly its wings opened up wider than before as it released many light bullets.
"Threat level…High…Activating the [Gate of Israel]." the robotic voice said from the open channel as from its back the silver wing released a large ring of blue light. From there the ring 'opened up' as it released great deal of energy.
"What the…"
The bolt of blue energies formed again, however this time the energy sphere took forms of…swords?
Before the energy bolts were shapeless spheres, but now the raw energy of the wings were taking the shape of western swords with its guard and double-edged sword shape…Unbelievable.
The silver IS lift its left hand up…and pointed toward us.
The blue energy swords launched at us in high speed.
"DODGE THEM!"
We all scattered to avoid the sword shaped energy bombs. I activated my Akakiri and Akakami to its fullest effect to avoid any lock-on, but the sheer number of enemy's attacks made it meaningless. To my right Houki was flipping and slashing with her two swords to avoid any damage. She was truly talented to use her new IS with such ease.
Above me Yukihana was flipping and sliding as she dodged the blows, but being a hover type IS, she was having a hard time dodging. Also the hovercraft I allowed her to borrow was a big target and it lacked mobility to fight an IS easily.
Suddenly Sliver Gospel redirected its energy swords at the least agile Yukihana and opened fire. The storm of energy swords aimed at the Gordius Wheel and it seemed impossible to dodge.
Cecilia after seeing this sniped at the flying swords to protect Yukihana, but even with her sharp shooting the quantity outmatched her rate of fire.
I watched as Cecilia's beam attacks knocked a few swords away and destroyed them.
"I can't snipe them all!" Cecilia cried out in horror.
"TAMA! HELL DART MODE!" I commanded as I remembered the micro-missile pack within Gordius Wheel.
"…Roger." answered the white haired girl within me.
The missile chamber on my Gordius Wheel opened up to fire massive amount of anti-missile weapons. Over two dozens of missile came out and from within those micro missiles came out; the 'Hell Darts.' The sheer amount of micro-missiles were assuring, but the energy swords cut them down easily.
By simple observation, if the [Silver Bell] was the primary attack to bomb the enemy from afar, then the [Gate of Israel] was the anti-armory weapon to pierce through any defense in a wide range.
The destruction of the Hell Darts colored the sky in orange explosions, but the armada of energy bolts and swords was far from over.
While Yukihana distracted Gospel, I dashed forward with two hands on Kuroshiki. In classic kendo side slash, I stepped in for the kill, but surprisingly the enemy IS blocked with its own energy sword taken from its [Gate of Israel].
"Nani?" I whispered in surprise. It seemed Gospel, while made to be a long ranged bomber type, had skill in close range combat as well.
Now the Gospel was engaged in a close range sword duel, but as we exchanged lighting fast blows it became obvious I was clearly better at it. My katana ground into his make shift sword, but thankfully, they didn't blow up when I cut through them. It seemed Gospel's energy sword bolts exchanged sharpness, shape and piercing power for explosions.
That was good to know.
Beeep! Be! Beep!
Silver Gospel let off those beeping noises as it slid back and kicked me away.
"I got you-desu wa!" Cecilia yelled out as she fired at Silver Gospel. Her well-aimed shot hit its back, but it only gained its attention as it opened fired at the British girl. Cecilia managed to dodge, but it was clear that the enemy IS had the same range as Blue Tears…Only more guns.
"Taaahhhhh!" let out Houki as she came in for an overhead slash, but the Gospel skillfully leaned back. In return I slashed at its back with my Kuroshiki in a horizontal slash, but it managed to avoid by spinning around my slash.
"It dodged us?" Houki said in a shocked tone.
"At the same time?" I let out.
As if it was showing its superiority, Silver Gospel blasted us with its energy bolt in close range and got away from our reach. Houki and I came out of the smoke only to see the Gospel above us away from harm. However, there was a shadow above the Gospel.
"Not yet!"
A figure descended above the Silver Gospel.
"This Sanada Yukihana is not done here!"
Surprisingly Yukihana jumped off from Gordius Wheel with her two cursed Gae spears in hand, as she aimed at the top of the Gospel's head.
"beeepp?"
"GAE DEARG!" the Tiger's cub roared out as she thrust down, but her eyes widen as she noticed she was surrounded…By energy bolts.
"Shimata!"
BOOOOOMMMMM!
Yukihana let out a yell of pain as she was bombarded in close range by Silver Gospel's explosive attacks and fell.
"Yukihana!"
"Sanada-san!"
Fortunately, Cecilia managed to catch her.
"Are you ok?"
"I-I'm fine!"
Silver Gospel seemed to want to correct that by opening fire on the two girls below and it managed to hit Blue Tears and Uchigane Custom Wakatora several times.
""""AAAAAHHHHGHHHHH!""""
"You bastard!" I yelled out as I dashed forward in a frontal thrust charge. Gospel didn't react in time to dodge it completely as I landed a glancing blow on its shoulder.
"It is not good to forget about me!" Houki yelled out as she raised her Amatsuki(Rainy Moon) in a dual hand hold and used its single target energy blast blade mode to strike at Gospel. In a startled move, Gospel managed to avoid it, but it was caught in my trap.
"SLAM!"
My Gordius Wheel slammed into the unguarded side of Gospel as it blasted toward the sea. The Gospel grabbed on to the hovercraft's front to push herself away, but it was no use. The force of the thruster was too much to overcome with sheer physical power.
Beepi! Beepi! Beepi!
Gospel suddenly spread its wings and formed the ring-shaped [Gate of Israel]. From the ring the energies compressed and took the shape of a new batch of swords and fired into the Gordius Wheel's rear GN-Drive.
"Oh shit…"
The Gordius Wheel let out a lot of smoke as it slowed down.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Silver Gospel took advantage of it to slide off and kicked it away. It raised its hand at the damaged support craft and fired a barrage of beam bolts at it. The rain of attacks hit the Gordius's left wing.
Like a bird with its wings cut off, Gordius Wheel let out a visible shutter as it tried to rearrange itself. However, the damage to the wing was critical and its GN-Drive, the power source, was too damaged to continue.
"…It's going down!"
However, below the hovercraft were two of my comrades.
"Cecilia! Yukihana! Throw Gordius Wheel!"
Understanding my intention from my past fight using the hovercraft and our occasional sparring, the two girls flew toward the falling IS Vehicle and grabbed on to the undamaged side of the wing. They glanced at each other and nodded as they tugged the large hovercraft with their enhanced strength under the IS and spun around to gather the necessary force to throw the Gordius Wheel like a boomerang. The spinning hovercraft used up the last of its energy to activate the Fold Out Armor, Beam saber on the undamaged wing and aimed for Gospel.
Beeeppp! Beep!
As if annoyed by the constant attacks, Gospel simply fired a long, more compact beam attack which tore right through the spinning vehicle. The force of the beam tore through the rotating attack, which caused the spinning boomerang to slow and go off course. The hovercraft let off countless sparks and electrical charges as it floated there for a second.
…BOOOOMMM!
And got blown up in the air, destroyed.
Cecilia and Yukihana's efforts however were not in vain. The entire attack was meant to be flashy, attention grabbing and obvious. It was a big, fat distraction
"Masurao!"
"I am with you!" answered the red haired spirit of my Infinite Stratos as my visor let off a crimson glow. The red manes of the Akakami flared around making the entirety of Masurao glow like a vengeful spirit. In a flashy, fancy, and experienced motion, I drew the Kuroshiki and held it in my hand. In an instant, I spun around, got into an overhead strike stance, and charged down.
The Gospel looked up to see me striking down at her and it narrowly dodged by flipping away from my range, however…after she flipped back to dodge she stopped to get her bearing and balance, and during her pause she looked up to see a white katana flying right at her face!
It was my Byakushiki!
Guess when I had to the time to throw that?
Can you guess?
It was when I spun around in a lightning fast spin…Bet you didn't even see it coming.
"I got em!"
However, as if it was simply getting kicks off of proving me wrong, the enemy IS rolled sideway in mid-air and dodged my trap. It rolled in slow motion and dodged the white katana by a hair width!
"Oh that is a friggin load of-" I was cut off as a barrage of beam attacks knocked me back and the explosives damaged my Masurao. Adding insult to injury, Gospel kicked me across the face and flew away, hastily keeping distance between us.
"Ichika! This isn't working!"
"…I'll attack its front to gain its attention! Attack from its back!"
"Roger!"
I brandished my twin words yet again and blasted forward. The two of us dodged the hail of beam attacks and managed to shorten the distance.
"Ichika! I'll stop its movement!" Houki yelled out as she detached two hip armors that turned out to be Blade BITs. I was surprised she even had those!
"Houki! Wait!" but my words were ignored as she managed to smash one of her BITs against the Gospel's side, which allowed her to clash her sword against its arm to hold it in place.
"Ichika! Now!"
There was no choice then.
I blasted forwards and pushed my IS to its limit and held my Kuroshiki in a horizontal strike form. I was aiming for the back of the Gospel's head. The Absolute Barrier should protect the rider inside.
"OOOHHH!"
However, the Gospel decided to ruin that plan by unleashing a barrage of beams from its back as sword shaped energy bolts aimed at me, which forced me to block. The numerous energy swords blocked my path as I was forced to wildly swing my sword.
Clank! Clank! Clank!
Parry! Block! Duck! Roll! Slide! Side step! Parry! Dodge!
I managed to block them, as I shattered the energy constructs with my katana, but I missed my chance. Gospel fired yet again, this time the beams curved around to hit Houki on her back.
"Aggh!"
As she was pushed aside, I came in for the kill. This time there was no battle cry.
Just focus on the killing blow.
I bent low with a low horizontal strike that aimed at the Gospel's eyes…In real life this sword strike would remove the top from the eyes up from the rest of the body…A deadly man slaying technique.
The Silver Gospel leaned back in graceful arc to dodge, but I still felt it…I did manage to hit it.
The Gospel rolled aside and uprighted itself, but there was a clear-cut mark on it helmet…It was a narrow escape.
The Gospel seemed displeased as it opened fire in a mass. The rain of bolts and swords mix of the Silver Gospel's two attacks the Sliver bell and the Gate of Israel was unorganized and random, but with its sheer amount and explosive power, it was more dangerous than the focused and perceived attacks.
I ducked under and dodged all the attacks, but a few stray shots managed to damage my Masurao's thinner than normal armor.
"Damn…" Beep beep beep. "Huh?" from my screen there was an image of… "a ship?"
"A ship? Out here now?"
Suddenly an explosion occurred in front of me and it turned out Houki had used her Akatsubaki to protect me. From my analysis it seemed Houki's Shield points were rather low as well…We had been taking too much of a beating.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING! WHY AREN'T YOU FOCUSING?"
"THERE'S A BOAT!
"What?" Houki checked her own screen to confirm my words and her expression turned grim as she too was seeing the ship.
"The teachers were supposed to seal this area off…" A sign came up that says 'NO Data' "Damn it! It is shipping illegally!"
At that moment Gospel opened fire with the ship in its range. I got in its way to block them, but there were too many shots.
"Leave it to us!"
This voice was…Cecilia! Yukihana!
It seemed the other two managed to get in front of the ship to shoot or block the incoming shots, but it was clear that Yukihana's Uchigane was on its last legs and Cecilia was hurt too. With such low level of shield points left those two were not enough to protect that ship!
Even so, I couldn't leave it behind like that.
I checked my shield points and GN-Particle level…Shields at 300, dropping, and particles at 68%...And my hovercraft is down for the count…I can't get those extra particle tanks and 200 shield points.
As I lamented my luck, I had to actively protect the illegal ship.
The hail of energy bolts turned into the energy swords again. The sharper energy attacks increased the burden on my weapons as my Kuroshiki…
Swing! Swing! Clank!
…Broke.
I threw aside my Kuroshiki and held my Byakushiki with both hands, but soon after few more blows.
Clank! Clank! CCLLAANNKK!
It broke her into two pieces as well.
"Damn it! My Shiki Kyodai!" I yelled as in frustration." I can only carry two of these! It is not like I can summoned a new pair every time they break ya know."
"YOU IDIOT! WHY ARE YOU PROTECTING CRIMINALS..." Houki yelled as she too blocked and dodged. Her tone was harsh and angry…It was not like her…That kind of anger didn't suit her at all.
I understood this was her first battle and no one wanted to lose their debut, but…her anger was clouding her mind. Such frustration and anger could ruin her in more ways than she might realize. In addition, she was in the middle of battle to boot!
"Well, I am the kind of guy who doesn't allow any unwanted casualties in my fight! I am not exactly an upstanding citizen myself anyway." I replied regarding my…Gang and after school activities. I spun around using my broken katana to block, but I was starting to run out of weapons and power…My shield was too low to even bother using my small GN-Shield. Actually using the shield would actually burden me rather than helping me. The damned shield took too much power to work and it took a lot more to enlarge it to be of any use against these barrages of swords and bullets.
"YOU BAKA! CAN'T YOU JUST LEAVE—"
The moment I realized what she was going to say something in me snapped. I flew right toward her in a flash with my boosters on max and…
Pahhk!
…Slapped her across the face.
"YOU FOOL!"
"-!" Houki looked shocked as she cupped her cheek despite the fact her A.B protected her from all harm.
"Listen well Shinonono Houki! Don't you ever say such disappointing words in front of me ever again!" Dodged and summoned my final sword….Yukihira Akatsuki "You are who you are! Don't you dare stop being yourself! Or have you truly lost sight of the weak after getting a small bit of power? Don't be conceited! Don't be arrogant! It is laughable to think your meager power is anything to be wary about!"
I blasted away in a zig-zag pattern to avoid any cluster of attack, all the while cutting at the beam katana to shatter away all threats.
"The power you received is nothing, so don't you act as if you have the power to judge who lives or dies!" I yelled at her as I skillfully twirled the beam katana in my hand and got into a stance.
I blasted forward with my katana as it extended. Its length increased by ten times as I swung it to knock aside several beam bolts.
The explosions by my interception colored the sky in red and orange. I retracted the beam sword and slowly and gracefully sheathed it at my hip. I slowly turned to her.
"…Houki…I don't want to see you ruin yourself like this…You are meant to be a Saber…A noble samurai…You are not meant to bathe in dirt and blood like me…Don't you dare take my path as a Berserker…" I said with a sad smile on my face. While my mask and helmet covered my face, our communication link showed it uncovered.
"I, well, I..." Houki stuttered as she flinched from my gaze.
Houki looked like she was trying to hide her obviously wavering face as she covered it with her hands. She let out a wail of angst and shame as she trembled. She sobbed and cried at her actions, however she did something one must never do…She let go of her weapons!
We were still in middle of a fight! If Gospel saw an easier target then it would…
In front of my eyes, the Gospel once again got ready to fire in the same manner, and it was now aiming at Houki.
With her guard down and all focus distorted and broken, she would not be able to survive the rapid beam attack! By the looks of it her shield was low as well.
Gospel relentlessly opened fire. The armada of blue feather like bombs and sword shaped energy arrows sailed toward us.
"Let me make it! Masurao! SHUNKO!
Oh Gods…Let me make it!
(Normal POV)
One Off Ability, Shunko the Flash Cry. An ability to overuse the GN-Drive to produce hundred time normal output and multiply the user's physical ability by tens and hundred times. However the drawback was the self-damage and a time limit.
The black armor turned pink and red and the shroud of crimson glory expanded in size and intensity.
In a blink of an eye, Ichika appeared behind Houki and took the blow for her.
Boooom! Boooom! Boooom! Boooom! Boooom! Boooom! Boooom! Boooom! Boooom! Boooom!
"ICHIKA!"
"ICHIKA-DONO!"
"ICHIKA-SAN!"
From the fury of fire instead of being knocked out…The young fighter's rage woke…The Berserker stirred from its sleep and opened its eyes. Ichika's body was pelted with a rain of attacks that slammed and blew up all around him. One of the stray shots managed to smack him on the side of his head, which was blocked by his helmet. However, the side of the helmet was cracked and broken.
Unknown to Ichika, his right eye-patch under the helmet and visor was loose and fell off. His artificial eye glowed blue before turning red…blood red.
Since her shield was all gone due to the military round attacks Ichika protected Houki from the fire caused by the constant bombardment. The spitting flames of the explosion still reached her and in the process her hair ribbon was burned away. However, the samurai girl didn't even notice as her watery eyes watched her crush taking hits for her sake while she was powerless to do anything.
"…Ichika!"
"GGGGUUUUHHHHHHAAA!"
With a beastly roar, Ichika charged forward with his most powerful beam katana in hand. He ignored all the shots and bolts as it tore into his Absolute Barriers and armors. A few shots hit the shoulder, which broke the shoulder armor off. Three consecutive shots to the leg and hips cost him his leg armor and one side of the booster.
"Ggguuuuaaahhh!"
He ignored the pain and the damage as he continued to advance. His beastly roar deafened all those who heard it as he battered aside any attacks that he could. The crimson katana swung as it knocked aside the energy bombs, but many broke through the swipes and exploded.
Boooom! Boooom! Boooom! Boooom! Boooom! Boooom! Boooom! Boooom! Boooom! Boooom!
Each explosion damaged and shattered the armors bit by bit. The blows inflicted were draining the shield points at a fast pace, however the crimson covered juggernaut refused to stop.
Woosh! Voosh! Woosh!Clank! booom! Klank!
His katana bashed away any of the bolts and swords that came at his way, however he received several wounds in return.
Voosh! Clank! Boom!
One of his beetle like horns got cut off by an energy sword. The broken horn spun away into the air in a dramatic motion.
Clank! Duck! Slash! Slash! Parry! Block! Boom!
The hooved boots on Masurao's feet were blown off.
Woosh! Voosh! Woosh!Clank! booom
A stray shot hit the side of his helmet, but it didn't pierce…but it did bend the metal frame. The visor on his face creaked a little, but the Berserker continued his charge.
Spin! Clank! Slash! Thrust!
The armor on his elbow and right hip got hit and sparks flew. Fire erupted because of the explosion. The dark smoke covered his vision, but the Berserker raged on.
Beep! Beeppp!
Silver Gospel sensed the danger and spun around to fire multiple shots in all directions once again, but it was not as effective as before since the speed Masurao was performing at was ten times the insane speed he had before.
Ichika jumped in front of the Gospel and swung down in an overhead strike. The slash was so powerful that it cut through the air leaving a trail of powerful gale, but the Gospel made several of its swords to appear in front of her to block the all-crushing blow.
Ichika repeated the strike with Yoko giri (Sideway strike), Naname giri (Diagonal downward strike), and Kiriage giri (Diagonal upward cut). However, each attack was blocked by the timely appearance of those damned blue energy swords. Each strike was powerful enough to shatter and break those swords, but Ichika only wielded a single blade and the enemy wielded countless disposable copies.
"GGGAAAHHHHHH!" Ichika roared out as the right side of his visor released a hateful and frightening red glow. The madness and sudden uncontrollable anger fueled Masurao to fight harder, while ignoring the strain and the pressures. The IS' frame cracked as the force of the Shunko was damaging the machine in order to fuel its abnormal power and speed.
Beep! Beep!
Gospel let out its signature noise as it flew backward and this time its wings glowed brightly.
"Threat…Male IS pilot, Orimura Ichika…Threat Level…A++ Rank… extremely high…activating 'Ten no Kusari' (Chain of Heaven)." Beeped out the rogue IS as from its wings sprouted energy chains instead of energy swords or bolts.
These chains were as numerous as they were long. Ichika swung his sword to bat them aside, "GUUUAAAHHH!" but their sheer quantity overwhelmed him. The rattling sound of chains filled the air and they swayed and dodged Ichika's swings, tangling around him in a sphere. (!) In quick succession, they managed to tie around Ichika's arms, legs, hips, neck, body, and sword.
Like a mad monster, Ichika strained against the bonds of the chains, but it was useless as he was battered and shot at by a hail of energy bolts. The chain was made of same energy as the energy bolt so being tied by it caused his shield to drop. "GUUAAAAHHHHHH!" The explosive attacks shattered his armor even further dropping his shields dangerously low.
The falling punishment of heaven battered his form as his front chest armor cracked and broke and his shoulder armors fell apart by the relentless assaults. The explosives destroyed his leg armor and finally…Gospel made a sword in its hand and thrown it lazily at the immobilized Masurao, smashing into the right side of his face…blowing his helmet apart.
BBOOOOOOOMMMMM!
GUUAAAAHHHHHH!
The sound of an injured beast could be heard as his black kabuto(Helmet) fell apart in slow, agonizing motion. Ichika's head jerked back by the force of the attack and the pain. His hair now free form his helmet, swayed and waved against the air. His artificial right eye glaring into the blue sky with its red gaze.
The chain holding his body stayed as it held his body up…like a puppet pulled upright by the puppeteer.
"Ichika!" Houki yelled out in fear, but it was useless as she was powerless. From below Yukihana whose IS was not equipped with flight support tried to reach Ichika, but was shot down by the stray hails of the bombardment that missed Ichika. With her lack of mobility the only thing she could do was twirl her prized spears to defend herself.
On the other hand, Cecilia who was still in fighting condition flew up to help her crush. She narrowly dodged and rolled away from the attacks and valiantly fired back.
"FLY! BITs!" she declared as she launched her four laser gunners. The laser gunners zipped past the bombardment with skillful movement, but it was like avoiding every drop of rain and snow… impossible.
Her prized weapons dodged to the best of their ability, but…
Voosh! Sheen! Voosh! Booom!
Boooom!
Viiing! Voosh! Beem! Beeem! Voosh!
Boom!
Soon three of her BiTs were shot down by the rain of attacks and only one remained.
While focusing on her BITs Cecilia too was bombarded by several powerful explosive shots that overwhelmed her. She yelled out in pain as her shields reached below 40 and kept dropping, but she had a goal to accomplish.
"I am almost all out…Just one shot…Give me…"
A screen with the targeting system appeared. It showed Cecilia the point of view of her last surviving BIT. She focused the target aim to…Ichika's right hand that was holding his sword.
Her control over her bit may not have been as perfect as she wished, but when she was focusing on a single drone and that drone only…She was the master.
"…One shot to turn the table AROUND! CECILIA ALCOTT! SORA NO ME! SNIPING THE TARGET!"
She clicked the trigger button with allowed her manual control of the BIT to fire its blue beam as it too was destroyed, but the final shot it fired managed to hit the chain holding Masuao's arm and freeing it.
At that moment Ichika's head, jerked back because of the clean head shot that destroyed his samurai helmet. The hit knocked him back to his senses, forcing his berserker rage to back down slightly.
"Cecilia?...Ah…" He shook his head slightly, but the pain refused to fade.
He straightened back up.
"…I see…There is no other choice." He checked his energy level and saw that he was running out of time! Less than 30 seconds! Ichika slowly raised his hand holding the katana. He could see the damage done to his IS, but he was not out of the fight yet!
"…Masurao…("Hai?" Replied the strained voice of his IS)…We are using our most powerful strike…activate the Anti-Fortress mode."
"…Ryokai!(Roger!)"
A screen appeared in front of him asking if he would like to use the Anti- Fortress mode. He agreed.
Suddenly all the red and pink glow of GN-Particles faded and it all focused into his Yukihira Akatsuki. The red oppressing power of his GN-Particles focused on to the sword, turning his once neat and graceful katana blade shaped beam into a towering fire. It was like trying to force the raw energy of the dark and bloody red fires of hell into the shape of a sword…It was impossible to hold.
This power had been used only once before this…it was when Cecilia had fought Ichika for the very first time…it was when Ichika had used the final attack while his IS was not yet fully configured to him. Last time it was fortunately redirected to the sky…destroying the entire School barrier. This time…it was aimed at someone.
The energy chain holding Ichika was weakened and fading by the oppressive power of his sword. Movement was no problem!
"This attack is my strongest…Let's see you deal with this!" roared Ichika as he raised his sword high above his head in Jodan no kamae (upper level posture).
"Yukihira Akatsuki! Anti-Fortress Destroyer mode!
He gripped the sword even tighter.
"TAKE THIS AND GO TO HELLLL!"
He swung down the tower of red and black furry that was the compressed form of all his power.
The Anti-Fortress weapon of Yukihira Akatsuki…it was the most powerful attack in Masurao's armory. The attack that was shrouded in darkness as Ichika had never had to chance to use this attack before, because of the condition that required one to use this was too straining.
As Ichika swung down his most powerful attack, the enemy did the same to a lesser degree. However, what could Silver Gospel do against an attack that used Shied Nullification technology and the sheer intensity of the beam attack? Simple…stop the attack from being fired.
The chain that used to bind Ichika was loose and weakened...…But hadn't ceased to exist.
Suddenly like a viper coiling its prey, the energy chain came back to life with vigor. It tied around Ichika's arms and body as he was in middle of his swing! The sudden interruption prevented Ichika from unleashing his most powerful attack.
"!"
Ichika, whose head was spinning in pain because of his injury, headshots, and the berserker rage from before was too disoriented to break out of his bindings.
Beeep! Beep!
Silver Gospel saw its chance and was not about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Silver Gospel focused all its energy bolts into a single weapon…An energy spear.
The silver armored hands of the Gospel grabbed onto the spear and tugged it back. Gathering the necessary pull, the rogue IS threw the spear at the immobilized Ichika with blinding speed.
!
The blue spear sailed toward Ichika leaving a trail of blue light. Ichika's friends yelled out helplessly as the spear came closer and closer…
Crack!
The blue spear…Thrust into Ichika's chest…breaking through the weakened Absolute Barrier and his thin armor…Light left Ichika's defiant eyes, both mechanical and natural. The Doukugan Ryu gasped for breath as the spear pretty much stabbed into his heart…the only saving grace was the Absolute Barrier, a safety system built in the IS that protected the pilot, that saved him. It was sheer luck that the spear had not reached his skin but was blocked by the concentrated, thick chest plate armor and the A.B.
The Yukihira Akatsuki and its most powerful attack The Anti-Fortress attack was unable to unleash all its strength as it faded away…the One Off Ability Shunko too faded away. Ichika was now powerless and unarmed.
"Ksshh!" He hissed out in pain. He raised his powered down saber katana handle at Silver Gospel.
"I…Lost?...Im…impos…" he muttered out in disbelief. He lifted his other hand slowly and shakily as he materialized the broken forms of his Byakushiki and Kuroshiki. He slowly held both swords in one hand…like how his 6 swords style was supposed to look like.
"I am…Orimura Ichika…I can…not…"
He raised his, now armed, hand. His shaky form was disheartening as it was tragic, the blue energy spear still stuck between his chest armor and Absolute Barrier.
"Watashiwa(I am…)…Wata..shiwa…DOUKUGAN RYU-DAAAAAA!" he roared out with his last strength as the blue energy spear shattered to pieces and engulfed him in furious blue light…
"ICHIKA!" Houki yelled out as she caught him. The furious explosion covered them both, but she used her body to protect him. During the process, her white hair band burnt away, letting her hair loose.
The Silver Gospel, seeing its enemies down for the count with no IS nearby having any shield points left, beeped and flew away into the blue sky. Victorious over the undefeated Doukugan Ryu and the 4th Generation IS, Akatsubaki.
IS Stats
Name: Silver gospel
Shift: First Shift.
Alignment: Chaos Good
Stat
Strength: B-
Agility: A
Speed: A+
Defense: C
Endurance: C+
Luck: B
Master Syncro: A
3rd Gen weapons skill: C-A++
Weapons
Silver Bell: (Anti-unit-Army): C
Simple energy bullets made from Gospel's wings. Individually they are nothing special, but in a group they pack a lot of punch.
Gate of Israel: (Anti-unit-Army):C-A+
A special Silver Bell that is made from the energy gate made of the Gospel's wings. This 'Gate' focuses and solidifies the raw particles into beam saber like construct. It sacrifices it explosive power for shape, focus, and piercing power. It solidifies the beams to allow Gospel to grab them for weapon battle. Its power level and destructive level varies from Rank C to A+
Chain of Heaven: (Anti-unit): B
The energy chain made of the Gate of Israel. It is cast from the gate and from Gospel's arms. The chain is a solidified energy particle that can be used to ensnarl the opponents to immobilize them. The chain is tough as it is fast and it is still hot energy. By being bound to it can harm enemy IS by burning away its Absolute Barrier.
XXXXXXX: (Anti-unit-Army-Fortress)EX
I am basing this guy off of you know who…What else could I be planning…you tell me.
How did you take it? Surprised right? Any FSN lovers worth their salt should know why I modified the Gospel and off of who. The chain part came from the UBW movie scene, which I love so much. It was sooooo dominating after all.
Review and tell me how you think.