Part 3:
Believe in your justice and follow the path it creates
Chapter 10:
The Truth, for Better or for Worse


Chris and Kana's POVs:
The Undersea Dragon Palace


The girls were shocked to see Dr. Ver again, and here of all places, but the Doctor didn't seem to be the least bit afraid to see the girls. "So, you're using old LiNKER to merely keep your Gears functional, huh?" Ver asked, to a mixture of annoyed and disgusted reactions. "The only LiNKER made from kindness was of my design. They're really expecting you to fight with that? It's so pitiful, I can't stop laughing!"

"If anyone's pitiful here, it's you!" Kirika retorted.

Meanwhile, Kana noticed Chris was lost in thought. "You okay, Chris?"

"He stopped one of my attacks..." Chris mumbles. "I'll repay the humiliation I suffered a million times over!"

"That makes two of us." Kana says to Chris, cracking her knuckles. "I've got many reasons to make this asshole suffer!"

"Wait dess!" Kirika shouted.

"You can't hurt the doctor!" Shirabe added.

"And why not?" Chris asks.

"Because he's the only person that can make LiNKER!" Kirika replied.

"Exactly!" Ver said proudly. "If anything happens to me, you'll lose LiNKER forever! And considering how many people rely on it, you would be stupid to try and kill me here!"

Carol simply sighed as Ver went on and on with his ramblings. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't act like I wasn't here." She said, dropping more Alca-Noise crystals in front of her.

Chris scoffed at this. "Even if you can't fight, I still can!" Without hesitation, she readied her Gatling guns and mowed down the Alca-Noise. As she did, Carol put up a barrier for herself that Ver did not hesitate to get behind in a panic.

"It's unclear whether this man is friend or foe." Leiur said. "Master, what are your orders?"

Ver overheard Leiur's comment and became irritated. "I'm neither friend nor enemy! I am a hero!"

"If that's what you truly believe you are, then let's give you a hero's death!" Kana shouts, charging a massive Dragon Shot in her hand.

Seeing this, Chris had the same idea and prepared two bigger missiles and aimed them directly at Ver. "Give my greetings to all the heroes who came before you!" Chris shouts.

(TRUST HEART begins to play)

Seeing the attacks on display from the two made friend and foe alike very concerned. "You absolute imbeciles!" Ver shouted. "I don't know what you're thinking, but if you fire those in here, this whole facility, including myself, will be crushed by seawater! Just kidding."

"Leiur, get us out of this." Carol ordered, to which the Autoscorer nodded and started to run around the wielders.

Seeing this, Chris retracted the missiles and tried to shoot Leiur down, but the Autoscorer wasn't going to make that task easy for her. "I can't let them handle this!" Chris says to herself. "I can't let them fight my battles!"

Kana's focus on the Doctor and Carol started to falter as she saw Chris' attacks became more desperate to hit the Autoscorer and her focus became less on her surroundings. "Chris! You need to calm down!" Kana tries to plead with the gunslinger, but her words fall on deaf ears. Eventually, her worst fears with Chris' desperation came true as her guns were about to be pointed directly at the Zababa duo. "Chris! No!"

Kana couldn't bear to watch what she knew was coming and turned away quickly. But the sound of bullets piercing the duo never came. Instead, the sound of steel clashing with steel filled the air, stopping the gunfire. When Kana looked to see what happened, she saw Kirika had stopped Chris by forcing her gun skyward before it could shoot Shirabe. "Do you plan to hit us, too?" Kirika asked.

These words finally snapped Chris out of her trance as she realized the fatal mistake she was about to make. However, it didn't take Kana long to realize that Ver had suddenly shut up, which was more concerning than it was relieving. "Where did they go?"

"They must have gone down there." Shirabe said, pointing to a new hole in the ground with fresh burn marks.

"I let them get away, huh?" Chris asks.

"I'm sorry." Shirabe said. "I thought that if something happened to the doctor, we couldn't make LiNKER anymore."

"But we won't be deceived again!" Kirika added. "If all four of us work together, we'll surely wi-"

Chris stopped Kirika with her hand. "I can't rely on your help!" She says. "This isn't some friendly frolic through flower fields here. I can do this alone."

"The hell's gotten into you?" Kana asks. "First you nearly kill them, now you're expecting us to just sit back and watch you fight Ver, Carol-chan, AND an Autoscorer by yourself? Not a chance! We're doing this toge-"

"I said, I can do this alone." Chris reiterates, giving Kana a death glare. "I have to do this on my own, otherwise I can't call myself their senpai or even consider myself worthy of being anything to Kana..."

Despite the irritated look on her face from Chris rejecting any help, Kana deep down could tell there was more to Chris' current attitude than wanting the glory of finishing off Carol and the Doctor all to herself. "You don't need to put yourself through all of this alone, Chris. So why are you trying so hard to push us away?"


Meanwhile at S.O.N.G. HQ


"Targets lost." Sakuya reported. "Unless something big happens, I can't track them from here."

As disappointing as it was to lose sight of the enemy, the return of another was equally as frustrating. "Dr. Ver... If they'd let us know he was stored there, this wouldn't have happened..." Aoi said.

"His Nephilim power is as strong as ever. Not to mention the fact it's amplified by Kana's blood that he stole." Sakuya added. "This is a huge problem."

"Start trying to trace them again. Quickly." Genjuro ordered.

As the agents did what they could to track their foes, something about all of this disturbed Elfnein. "The destruction of the Yantra Sarvasva, the last part Carol needed, means we've stopped the completion of the Château de Tiffauges." Elfnein said aloud to herself. "But even so, Carol hasn't stopped..."


Elfnein's POV:
Flashback:
Château de Tiffauges


"Please explain." Elfnein pleads. "The Château de Tiffauges that I worked on was meant to help us carry out our papa's will. You never said it would tear the world apart!"

"Indeed. The Château de Tiffauges is a World Destructor, the culmination of alchemical science, and at the same time, a giant flask." Carol said.

"You lied to me..."

"And if I did, what will you do now?" Carol asked. "You have no power. Will you still try to stop me?"

Elfnein clenched her fist. Sure, Carol was right about Elfnein being leagues below her in terms of power, but that wouldn't stop her from doing the right thing. "Even so... Even so, just how I love the papa beyond my memories, I know, deep down, you love him too."

This broke through Carol's overconfidence. "What are you saying?"

"Papa doesn't want us to destroy the world!" Elfnein says. "I won't let you do something he doesn't want!"

Carol's overconfidence was completely replaced with anger at Elfnein's argument. "You're just a spare with replicated memories! Know your place!" Carol said. "You have no right to call yourself his daughter nor to speak on his behalf!" With that said, Carol sat back in her chair and took a deep breath to calm herself. "I'm releasing you from your duty to construct the Château. Go do whatever you want, just get out of my sight."


Carol's POV:
The Undersea Dragon Palace


Following their escape from the wielders, Carol passed out again, waking up to the sight of Leiur carrying her. "Was I out?"

"Another rejection. During our retreat, you lost consciousness." Leiur answered. "I can understand you being hasty when several high-level phonic gain users are present, but..."

"There's no need to worry." Carol interjects, turning her attention to the other person present. "I know you... Dr. Ver, one of the parties involved in the Frontier Incident. What are you doing here?"

"A bunch of entitled jerks who only care about themselves decided to pretend that both my heroics and the Frontier Incident never happened!" Ver answered. "I lost my rights and my very identity, becoming a thing, not a person. I was thrown in there, as part of the Nephilim they recovered." Saying this, Ver transformed his Nephilim-infused arm to show the Alchemist and Autoscorer why he was locked up.

"That left arm..."

"I didn't use the arm's power to block Ichaival's attack, as much as I would've loved to use that dragon brat's power against her and her friends." Ver continued. "At the moment of contact, Nephilim devoured, assimilated, and controlled its output, as part of its own body."

"You're an interesting man." Carol admits before turning to start walking in the other direction. "Very well, follow me."

"You're going to take me out of here?" Ver asked. "Then lead me to the center of the chaos."

"The center of the chaos?" Carol asks, unsure what he meant.

"That's where a hero belongs." Ver said.

In that moment, Carol faces Ver again, this time extending her hand out to shake his. "Nephilim's left arm... Tell me more about its power as we evade our pursuers."

"Don't you need to hurry and escape?" Ver asked, glad to talk about Nephilim, but confused as to why Carol was so calm about four wielders hunting them down.

"I know exactly where they are." Carol says cryptically. "It'll be easy to buy time."


Kana's POV:
The Undersea Dragon Palace: Sub Monitor Room


As Carol and Ver discussed Nephilim's power, the wielders reverted their transformations and went to the Sub Monitor Room to contact HQ and discuss their next move. "I'm not saying to not use your power! I'm telling you to think about how you use it!" Genjuro said over the monitor.

"Our new Symphogears exist to fight Carol's alchemy!" Chris retorted. "This is precisely the way to use them. You're nuts, you geezer..."

"Need I remind you, you're at the bottom of the sea!" Genjuro said, which only angered Chris further.

"You can't fight the supernatural with common sense dammit!"

"Just in case, here are the blast doors for each block and their respective switches." Aoi said, showing the girls a map with all of the blast doors and switches in case they have no other option but to use explosives.

"There's... There's no way I can remember all of these dess." Kirika said.

"Then let's each remember half of them, Kiri-chan." Shirabe suggested.

"Great idea dess!" Kirika exclaimed. "And Kana-sama can help us remember too in case we both forget, right?" Kirika turned to see Kana was lost in thought. "Is everything okay, Kana-sama?"

Kana snapped out of her trance once she noticed Kirika's confused look. "Oh, yeah. Just memorizing the switches and stuff." Kana says. However, it was only a lie to hide what she was truly thinking about: a moment she shared with Miku a couple nights ago.


Flashback:
Miku and Hibiki's Dorm


The same night after Micha's defeat, Miku returned to her dorm while Hibiki stayed at the medical wing of S.O.N.G. for the night. But before she would go to bed, someone showed up unexpectedly. "-ACK! Ow..."

"Kana?" Miku asks, seeing her friend on the bedroom floor as her Gear reverted its transformation.

Kana put a hand over her stomach as she stood back up. "Oh, hey Miku."

"What are you doing here?" Miku asks.

"Well... I was doing some more training with Lilith and I... accidentally landed on Chris in an attempt to teleport home..." Kana answered, visibly embarrassed. "Needless to say, she wasn't happy... Would it be okay if I spent the night here?"

"Of course. You might need to move around a few things on the bottom bunk though." Miku says, understanding her friend's worries. While Kana moved aside some boxes on the bottom bunk, Miku could tell something was bothering her friend. "You're still nervous about telling Chris how you feel, aren't you?"

"That obvious, huh?" Kana said, knowing there was no use hiding that fact from Miku. "It's just... I've been thinking for a while now if waiting until after the whole business with the Autoscorers and Carol-chan is too long to wait to tell her. For all I know, there could be something or someone worse than them waiting to strike and then it'd just make me anxious again and, at this point, I'm starting to worry if this anxiety will be my downfall in combat an-"

Without a word, Miku gave Kana a reassuring hug, which calmed down the dragon princess. "Then stop waiting." Miku says, confusing Kana. "If you're worried about never getting the chance to tell her, then make that chance yourself. Besides, it's no secret that you two have feelings for one another."

"H-How do you know?" Kana asked.

Miku stopped hugging Kana and put her hands on her shoulders. "Think, Kana. Chris may not be the best with emotions that aren't anger and overconfidence, but it's undeniable that she cares about you as much as you do about her." Miku says.

Kana looked Miku in the eyes, recalling every moment herself and Chris have spent together. After some thinking, looking back at everything now, Kana finally clicked everything together. "Gods... You're right, Miku." Kana said, pulling Miku back in for another hug as tears of joy streamed down her face. "But... I'm still not sure when I should tell her..."

"That will be up to you to decide." Miku says. "But you need to promise me this: When that moment comes, you won't allow your fears to hold you back."

With her worries set aside, Kana wiped the tears from her eyes and looked at Miku with newfound resolve. "I promise!"


"If Chris continues to be reckless here, we might die before I get the chance I'm looking for." Kana thought to herself, before an alert on the monitor caught her attention.

"I've found traces of an intruder in the security system." Sakuya reported.

"About damn time!" Chris shouted. "Let's get going!"


Tsubasa's/Chris and Kana's POVs:
Yatsuhiro Kazanari's Mansion/The Undersea Dragon Palace


With her foe defeated, Tsubasa stands over the now unmoving form of Phara. Not much time later, the others arrived to their locations. "This is..."

"Yes." Ogawa confirmed for Maria. "The remains of the Autoscorer that Tsubasa-san defeated."

"Is it still operational like this?" Serena asked, only for her question to be answered when the Autoscorer's eyes roll out from inside of her head.

"I'm sorry for insulting... Your song." Phara said.

"Ugh! That's freaky as hell!" Kanade exclaimed.

"It was truly a splendid song, sword girl." Phara continued.

"My song?" Tsubasa asks.

"It was such a wonderfully cursed melody, it felt like my body was being ripped in half!" Phara exclaimed, going mad with laughter, which disturbed the wielders and Ogawa.

"A cursed melody... Carol said much the same before." Tsubasa says.

"You're going to answer us, now!" Maria said.


Meanwhile at the Undersea Dragon Palace, the wielders follow HQ's directions to Carol's location. "How far do we have to go?" Kirika asked.

"We should have caught up by now..." Shirabe added.

"Are you sure this is the right way?" Chris asks into her communicator, starting to get irritated by all of the running with seemingly no results.

"Yeah. But they're doing a very good job of evading us." Genjuro said.

"It's like they know our location and what routes we're choosing." Aoi added, which made everyone at HQ and in the Palace come to a shocking realization.

"Could they have hacked into our HQ?" Sakuya asks.

"There could be a mole amongst our ranks..." Genjuro thought aloud.


Meanwhile...


Back at the Hospital, Hibiki made a call to someone she knew would be able to talk to her: Miku. "I'm sorry to call you so late. I was thinking about things, and I couldn't sleep."

"It's fine. I don't really mind." Miku said.

"Thanks." Hibiki replies. "I've thought about everything we've talked about, and I've decided to talk to Dad once more."

"Okay."

"But if I can be honest, I'm still a bit scared." Hibiki admits. "I'm just so worried about what will happen."

"Hibiki... It's okay. Everything's alright." Miku said, which confused the Gungnir wielder at first. "That's what you always say."

Hibiki chuckled at the realization. "I've honestly forgotten when I first started saying it... They're magic words that help me through whatever trouble I'm in, no matter what."

"You're so simple."

"I prefer the term 'optimistic.'" Hibiki retorts, which causes both of the girls to laugh. "Man, I needed that laugh."

"You're definitely sounding much better. You should thank those magic words of yours." Miku said.

"Yeah, you're right."

"And hey, if you still need someone to help you, as much as I doubt you will, there's always myself and Kanade-san to support you." Miku said. "Of course, everyone else will also be there to help you, but you know what I mean."

"Yeah. Thank you."


Tsubasa's/Elfnein's POVs:
Yatsuhiro Kazanari's Mansion/S.O.N.G. HQ


Back at the Kazanari Mansion, the wielders interrogate the disarmed Phara about the enemy's plans, who was more than happy to oblige. "You've had a mole amidst your ranks this entire time." She said. "And once you find out who it is, it'll already be too late. Your deaths are inevitable."


Coming to this realization already, S.O.N.G. HQ tries to deduce this theory themselves. "They've evaded us far too efficiently. And how in the world did they determine the location of the relics?" Genjuro thought aloud. "Have they been stealing our data from right under our noses?"

"What if it is a mole like you suggested?" Sakuya theorized. "What if Carol planted someone among us?"

Elfnein soon realized what Sakuya was suggesting. "N-No! I didn't do anything!" Elfnein pleads. "I swear it's not me!"

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it is you, Elfnein." A familiar voice said. Making herself known, an illusion of Carol appears in the command center.

"Carol... No way. I'm the mole?"


"What do you mean by 'a mole'?" Ogawa asked.

"Master required several things in order to fulfill her objective of dissecting the world." Phara said. "One of these things was the magic sword's cursed melody. The Autoscorer's task was to make the wielders sing that melody, and carve it into our bodies for recovery."

"But that would mean... The Ignite Module..."

"Impossible!" Maria said, coming to the same realization as Tsubasa. "I refuse to believe Elfnein would betray us!"


"Of course, Elfnein had no idea that she was the mole." Carol said. "I've been hijacking her sight, hearing, and all other senses."

"My own senses betrayed me?" Elfnein says, distraught at the idea of unwillingly betraying the people who trusted her more than anything.

"It was all possible because we are homunculi, made from the same original being." Carol continued.


"First, Master took the cursed melody into her own body, creating the score." Phara explained to Tsubasa's group. "All that was left, was goading you all into using the Ignite Module."

"You were toying with us from the very beginning?!" Kanade asked, visibly angered by the fact the enemy was using them this entire time.

But before anyone could question the Autoscorer further, a glint appeared in her eyes. Seconds later, she exploded, thankfully missing the wielders due to Ogawa's quick thinking. "Wait, if they have what they're after now, then does that mean they don't need us to live anymore?" Serena thought aloud.

"Is that why she didn't mind telling us all that?" Maria added, which only filled the other wielders with an immense sense of dread.

"Ogawa-san! Contact HQ!" Tsubasa says. "We need to tell them not to use their Ignite Modules!"

"It's no use. These particles in the air are probably chaff." Ogawa said.

"They've blocked our signal so we couldn't warn the others?" Kanade thought. "Dammit!"


"Please! Lock me away! Put me in some solitary cell where I can't come in contact with anyone!" Elfnein pleads. "No, Carol already got everything she needed out of me, so... So... Just get rid of me!" Elfnein closed her eyes and waited for the agents to get rid of her, but instead, she received a hug from Lilith, which confused the homunculus.

"I'm glad then, that you weren't a bad person." Aoi said.

"You were just being used by the enemy." Sakuya added.

"She may have used your senses against you, but you did everything you've done for S.O.N.G. for your own purpose and your own goals." Lilith added as well.

"And if she required your presence among us to perfect her plans, then she's nothing but a pathetic, arrogant child." Nastassja added.

"Everyone... Thank you..." Elfnein couldn't help but cry at the support of those she thought she unwillingly betrayed.

"Your goal is to stop Carol's plans. I don't see why you shouldn't be allowed to see it through to the end." Genjuro said. "So stay here. We don't care who can see what we're doing."


Chris and Kana's POVs:
The Undersea Dragon Palace


Irritated by the fact S.O.N.G. was practically unfazed at the realization their every move was being monitored from within, Carol dropped her illusion and scoffed. "She's just a tool. How dare she?" She said, before hearing the footsteps of the four wielders finally catching up to them

"This is where it ends... Carol! Doctor!" Shirabe announced.

"We're not going to let you get away like last time dess!" Kirika added.

Carol was unfazed by the wielders' threats. "Unfortunately for you, I've already found a replacement for the final piece I need to complete the Château." She said, throwing down more Alca-Noise crystals to halt the wielders' advances.

"As much as I would love to be a hero who is loved by kids, I'm also a very busy man." Ver taunted.

"As if anyone would love you!" Kirika retorted, pulling out her pendant, ready to fight.


"Zeios Igalima raizen tron"


(Overkill Scythe Hell begins to play)

The wielders all don their Gears once more and engage in combat with the Alca-Noise. However, Leiur was not going to sit around like last time, manifesting two batons made out of gold coins and charging at Chris. With the advantage over the advancing Ichaival wielder in both close quarters combat as well as agility, Leiur was able to easily push Chris away from Carol. "My sister and I will handle this, once she arrives."

"Fulfill your task as an Autoscorer." Carol said, giving Leiur her final order.

"It shall be done in the flashiest way possible." Leiur replied with a smirk.

With the final order given, Carol drops a capsule and begins to teleport away from the battlefield with Ver in tow. "Bye-bye!" Ver taunted.

"Oh no you don't!" Chris shouts as she charges at them once more, unaware of Leiur, who was ready to stop her.

"Chris look out!" Kana shouts, but she was too late.

Leiur was too close for Chris to react to her attacks and was knocked back once again.

"This is bad!" Kirika said. "You have to keep your distance, even if you can't go all out dess!"

"You're throwing off the rhythm!" Shirabe added.

With Chris weakened and Kana distracted, Leiur changes her focus to the Zababa duo, firing a barrage of coins to force them back before conjuring two gigantic coins to knock them both out with.

Hearing the noise of the giant coins clashing together, Kana and Chris looked over to see both Kirika and Shirabe on the ground, unconscious and badly bruised. "Gods... No..."

"I'm all alone..." Chris mutters, which confuses Kana. "Someone who's alone shouldn't want friends, or comrades, or to even be a senpai... If I do... If I ever do... This cruel world will kill them all, and I'll truly be alone."

"Chris?" Kana asks.

"Why did Mom and Dad try to save this world with their songs, when it's so cruel?" Chris continues.

"Snap out of it Chris!" Kana says, shaking the despondent Ichaival wielder. "You can't give up like this! You're not alone!"

"The dragon spawn's right." Leiur said, charging at Chris and Kana with her gold batons. "If you have time to cry, then sing!"

Left with no other option, Kana puts herself between Leiur and Chris and prepares to block the incoming strike. However, someone else comes to their rescue: Shirabe and Kirika.

"Kana-sama's right. You aren't alone." Kirika said.

"We may not be the strongest or most mature," Shriabe added. "But we can stay by your side, so you aren't alone."

"Girls..."

Despite blocking Leiur's attack, the Zababa duo were quickly pushed back by the Autoscorer due to being in a weakened state. "I'm gonna be honest, it hurt when you said you didn't want to be our senpai." Kirika chuckled through the pain.

"We truly rely on you to be our senpai... You and Kana both..." Shirabe added.

"I see..." Chris says, touched by the duo's words. "If someone like me can be your senpai, then I'm glad to have friends like you!" With encouragement from her kohais, Chris finds the resolve to stand and fight once again. "I'm not afraid anymore!"


"Ignite Module! Drawn Blade!"


Chris activates the Ignite Module once again, using everything she has to fight off Dáinsleif's curse. "They're counting on me to be their senpai. I have to live up to that..." Chris says to herself. "Even if someone else would give up here, I can't!"

(TRUST HEART (IGNITED arrangement) begins to play)

"I may not be able to assist much, but I'm not going to leave you to deal with this alone!" Kana says, activating her Ichaival Augmentation to give her as much of a boost as possible.

Chris simply smirks at Kana's persistence to help. "I'd expect nothing less from you, Kana." Chris says, earning a smirk from Kana as she charges at Leiur.

"I was about to give up all the strength and warmth I'd finally found, all because I was scared of losing it." Chris says to herself.

For the most part, the Ignited wielder and the Autoscorer fought in very close quarters, but eventually, Chris brings her pistols together and makes a massive rifle. "That rifle..."

"Doubles as a club!" Chris interrupts Leiur, bashing her over the head with the larger end of the rifle.

"This world gave me my bonds with all of them. Even if it may take away what you care about, it also gives you something else to cherish in its place." Chris continues with her thoughts. "I get it now. Mom and Dad used their songs to bring piece, so that the world would have more to care for..."

Finally ready to end the fight, Chris readies a Mega Deth Fuga, sending the first of two rockets at Leiur and forcing her to destroy it mid-air. "Has she gone mad?!" Leiur thought, unaware of Chris riding the second missile heading straight for her through the smoke of the first one's explosion, unable to dodge it in time.

But before the missile connected with the Autoscorer, Chris leapt off and was pulled back to the other wielders by a cable connected to Kirika's Gear as Shirabe and Kana aimed their attacks towards the switches to lock the blast doors before the damage could spread to their location, barely managing to pull Chris to the other side before the door fully closed.

"We did it dess!" Kirika exclaimed.

"We managed to pull that combination off on the spot." Shirabe added. "That was intense..."

"Not to mention overkill..." Kana teases.

"Regardless, it was only possible because you guys were here." Chris says, bringing all three of the other wielders present in for a hug. "Thank you."

Suddenly, the Palace begins to shake violently, which greatly concerned the wielders. "Genjuro-san? Is that ship from HQ at the Palace's entrance yet?" Kana asks into her communicator.

"It's been there for a while now." Genjuro answered. "But you need to get back here ASAP! We have trouble heading straight for HQ and we'll need to evacuate with or without you if you don't hurry!"

"On our way!" Kana replies, hanging up the communicator. "Chris, we need to-"

"Yeah, yeah, just get it over with!" Chris interrupts, knowing what Kana was going to say, holding out her hand as the dragon girl grabs the three wielders and teleports back to the entrance of the Palace and quickly board the ship that was waiting for them.


Kana and Genjuro's POVs:
S.O.N.G. HQ


"The wielders have returned to the sub!" Sakuya reported.

"Surface immediately!" Genjuro orders. "Forget about depressurization! Just get us away from that thing!" Without hesitation, the ship started to resurface at a fast pace, but the humanoid monster that was chasing after them was easily closing the gap regardless of their own speed. "Get all crew to the bridge, and brace for impact! Hurry, Tomosato!"

Once the ship surfaced, S.O.N.G. quickly detached a smaller ship from the larger one, getting away just in time for the gigantic humanoid monster to barely miss them with a powerful attack that destroyed the hull of HQ. Despite their narrow escape, the shockwave from the attack still did some damage to the command center, causing some ceiling panels to collapse and fall. "Watch out!"


As the agents evacuate the ship, one final rocket is launched from it's exploding hull, carrying Chris and Kana, the former still in their Ignite form. "Chris! Now!"

Without a word, Chris pulls out a longbow and a missile for an arrow, firing it directly at the monstrous being, the arrow flying right through it and destroying them in one swift motion.

ARTHEMIS SPIRAL

As the monster explodes from the attack, Kana swiftly flies over to grab Chris and safely lands on the smaller submarine. "Our HQ..."

Chris scoffed as she looked at the destruction sinking into the ocean. "Looks like they're done playing games... They're planning to destroy everything."


Meanwhile...


As everyone else's battles come to a conclusion, Hibiki stares out the window of her hospital room, both confident and nervous about what lies ahead.

"The day of reckoning dawns..."


A/N: And with that, we end the chapter. Before I leave, a few things:

First, for the sake of not having the story be filled with moments that would otherwise not make sense, I had to push back a certain moment that was planned for this chapter. (I'll explain why at the end of the next chapter.) But rest assured, two certain wielders will have the moment you've all been waiting for.

Second, speaking of chapters, the next chapter may take a bit longer than originally anticipated. The reason for this is because I am going to be alternating working on this fanfic and my other new fanfic, Symphogear R, every two weeks. This makes it easier for me to continue to provide chapters I can be proud of and avoid overworking myself.

So long story short, The next chapter might take a little under a month to come out, but I hope you'll understand and continue to enjoy the story as it unfolds. (Of course, you may be reading this long after the story is finished, in which case, ignore this message.)

Anyway, thank you for reading this chapter, I shall see you all in the next one!