Part 4:
Through Many Tears, The Reality of Your Fate is Shown.
Chapter 4:
Lapis Philosophorum
Bavarian Illuminati Alchemists' POVs:
Alchemist Hideout
Following the failed attempt to get rid of four of the Symphogear Wielders, the Alchemists and Tiki returned to their base of operations, a hotel room in the city, where they waited to enact their next move. However, a certain Autoscorer was starting to lose their patience. "I'm so booored!" Tiki cried as she flipped through the pages of the "Little Red Singing Hood" manga she was reading. "If Adam doesn't come for me soon, this boredom will surely rust me to death!"
Meanwhile, Prelati found some enjoyment out of Tiki's cries as she sipped on her tea. "Hey, Do you know where Saint-Germain is?" Cagliostro asks.
"She's busy working on the final adjustments to our Faust Robes." Prelati answers.
Meanwhile
In a secret lab, Saint-Germain oversaw several beakers, flasks, and other containers of varying sizes that all had tubes connecting to one massive device with three heart-shaped gemstones inside of it. While she waited for the substances in the various containers to finish, memories of a long-forgotten time played in her head like a bad melody.
"Please save my mother! She's had a fever for so long and she's in so much pain! Please save her, Father!"
"Stay away from me, you filthy slave! Worthless piece of trash!" The man the young Germain called her father smacked her to the wet, stone-covered ground without a second thought. "Don't get ahead of yourself just because that woman you call your mother gave me pleasure." He proceeded to look at the guards before leaving and said. "Teach her what it means to be a slave."
Later that day, the young Germain returned to her home and her sickly mother. "I'm sorry, Mother. I couldn't get us any food today." She said as she used a nearby rag to dry herself from the rain. "But it's okay. We still have some of the bread from a couple days ago."
In that moment, the young slave girl noticed her mother's unresponsive and unmoving form on the bed. "Mom?" She asked, only for no response to be given. "Mom?!" She asked again, but still no response. It was then that the young Germain knew the worst had come for her mother.
"Mom..."
Returning to reality from her harsh memories, Germain continued to observe the containers and gemstones, looking only towards the future she's waited centuries for. "Lapis. That which harnesses the power of alchemy to right the laws of this world rife with oppression."
"It's basically all thanks to the dancing Carol that we've made as huge of a leap in progress as we have. All that's left now is..." Prelati stops herself as she watches Cagliostro head for the door. "Where are you going?"
"Ohh, ohh, don't tell me..." Tiki said with piqued curiosity. "Are you stealing a march on us?"
"Can't you wait until the Faust Robes are done?" Prelati asks.
"Using protection feels so wrong." Cagliostro vulgarly replies as she proceeds to caress herself. "I want to pin them down and really feel it, with nothing in between us."
"Skin to skin? That sounds like love!" Tiki moaned as she flopped onto her back on the bed and began to roll around as Cagliostro left. "I want to feel Adam! I want him to pin me down and let him have his way with me!"
The Wielders' POVs:
Matsushiro
Meanwhile, S.O.N.G. and its many Wielders went away from their usual submarine base and drove in military-grade transport trucks to a new location. Along the way, they went past several charter buses being filled with civilians in the local area as they were all being evacuated. "Matsushiro, the place we're in now, was chosen by Japan's high command as a backup headquarters." Genjuro stated. "The predecessor of S.O.N.G., the unofficial organization known as the Kazanari Agency, was stationed here, as well."
"The Kazanari Agency?" Hibiki asks, speaking the question that was on every Wielder except Tsubasa and Kanade's minds, the former of the two looking rather irritated at the mention of said agency.
"As Japan was short on natural resources, they sought a means to turn the tide of the war by researching the powers of relics." Genjuro continued.
"And the result was Ame no Habakiri, and then the Nehushtan Armor, and Ichaival, which their ally Germany brought them." Tsubasa adds. "As well as the Gungnir..." The FIS Wielders were especially surprised to hear that last bit of information.
"The documents we acquired in Val Verde were encrypted with a method once used by the German army." Ogawa said. "That's why we need to use the decryption devices located here."
"I can understand why you need top-level security around the area when using the decryptors." Tsubasa says, before turning towards her Uncle. "But what I don't understand is why you ordered the people in this area to evacuate."
"What we need to protect isn't the people, it's the country." Genjuro answered. "At least, that's what Kamakura is thinking."
Entering the facility, the Wielders are led to an observation room to see the decryption devices they were being tasked with protecting. "It's a complex, difficult code. It's going to take some time to decrypt. " Genjuro stated. "Tsubasa."
"After the briefing, Yukine, Tachibana, Kamui, Serena, and I will stand by and guard the area." Tsubasa says, knowing what Genjuro was going to ask of her.
"Um..." Shirabe says with a raised hand. "What should we do?"
Once the briefing concluded, the active Wielders all got into positions around the base in case the Alchemists decided to attack either directly or with Alca-Noise. As for the ones who were currently inactive due to a shortage in LiNKER, they were put in charge of searching for any remaining civilians on the base so as to avoid any and all casualties if possible.
The Zababa duo lead the charge with binoculars in hand while Maria and Kanade followed closely behind them, the latter of the two treating this like a casual stroll through a park compared to the others. "Nino o'clock, all clear." Shirabe reports.
"Twelve o'clock, all cle- haaaa?!" Kirika shouts, getting everyone's attention. "Over there! Civilian located! Let's-a go dess!"
Kirika dashes towards the "civilian" she spotted. "I understand why you'd want to copy the others, Kiri-chan." Shirabe says. "But that's-"
"Hold on, I think it's better if she finds out on her own." Kanade says, stopping Shirabe from telling Kirika the truth of who she found.
Kirika stops right in front of the civilian and quickly turns around to face them. "Excuse me, but you need to hurry and... Yikes! It's not a person at all!" Kirika gasps as she realizes that the "civilian" she found was nothing more than a scarecrow.
"Scarecrows these days are very realistic..." Shirabe sighs while Kanade starts to laugh at Kirika's self-induced scare.
"...This is all we can do without more LiNKER." Maria says, feeling like she isn't doing enough for the others due to the LiNKER shortage.
"For now, we need to patrol to make sure there's nobody left!" Kirika says.
"But you're overdoing it a bit, and it's stopping you from doing your best." Maria replies.
"To be honest, if I'm not keeping myself occupied, then I get really worried." Kirika states.
"I can understand that..." Kanade says. "Besides, even if this is all we can do, there's no harm in having a little fun with it, right?"
"Right dess!" Kirika agrees as she gets herself motivated again to continue searching. "Okay, back to the mission!"
However, as she got back into her groove, the Wielders were quick to notice someone emerging from the tomato bushes. "Kiri-chan, behind you!"
Unfortunately, Shirabe's words of warning came a little too late and Kirika ran right into an older woman who had a basket full of tomatoes, causing them to fall from her basket as she and Kirika fell. The other Wielders present quickly rushed over to check on the woman. "Are you okay?" Maria asks.
"I'm so sorry!" Kirika apologizes.
"No, no. It wasn't your fault, my dear." The woman replied, ensuring the Igalima Wielder that she was quite alright.
Once they made sure the woman was okay, Maria kneeled closer to them. "The government has ordered a full-scale evacuation of the area. You should leave immediately." She says in a calm tone.
"Oh, right. Right." The woman replied as she proceeded to pull out two tomatoes. "But it's the end of tomato harvest season.
"They look delicious!" Kirika gasps as she and Shirabe look at the ripe tomatoes in awe.
"They are delicious!" The woman said, offering the tomatoes to the Zababa Wielders. "Give them a try!"
Without hesitation, Kirika bit into the tomato. Once she finished eating, she shot up in excitement. "It's delicious dess!" She exclaims. "Shirabe, you gotta try it!"
While not as eager to eat the tomato as her friend, Shirabe still tried the tomato she was offered. "Here goes..." Shirabe bit into her tomato. While she was doubtful at first, she soon found herself genuinely surprised at how good it was. "You're right! It's totally different from the neighborhood supermarket!"
"Right?" The old lady said, glad to see the Zababa duo enjoying the tomatoes. "We put a lot of effort into raising them."
"That good, huh?" Kanade asks, before turning to the farmer. "Would it be alright if my friend and I also had one?"
"K-Kanade!" Maria gasps. Well, she was going to ask to try one regardless, but she just wasn't prepared for the elder Gungnir Wielder to grab her by the shoulder and pull her close.
However, before Kanade and Maria would get that chance to experience the same blissful taste that the Zababa duo got, a certain someone made herself known to the group. "Yoo-Hoo! I found you!"
Cagliostro appeared before the four Wielders with a smug grin painted onto her face. However, that grin quickly went away when she realized who she found. "Wait, cancel that. It's just the unfortunate tri-color dango trio and their mitarashi sauce accomplice again."
"Tri-"
"Color?"
"Wait, what do you mean by 'dango'?" The F.I.S. Trio ask.
"Just what your Gears look like." Cagliostro said. "You mad?"
"Nah, just disappointed." Kanade retorts. "I feel like you could've said something like 'Team Neapolitan' that way you'd come up with something more clever for me than 'mitarashi sauce accomplice.'"
"How is that any better for you?" Maria asks.
"Don't read too much into it." Kanade replies with a wink.
"My, my. Perhaps I was wrong in labeling you as just an accomplice." Cagliostro said, knowing what Kanade meant. "But regardless, it'd be a waste of my time to fight with you lot... That is, unless you can use your Gears..."
"If that's what you want..."
"...Then we'll show you!" Kirika and Shirabe pull out their pendants as a retort to Cagliostro's taunt.
"Don't let her provoke you!" Maria shouts.
"Trust me, I wanna kick her ass too, but now's not the time for that." Kanade adds.
Hearing this, Cagliostro sighed. "I knew it. You used up all your medicine and can't fight." She said with a shrug as she proceeded to pull out a handful of Alca-Noise crystals. "Fine, then I'll just get rid of you before team traffic lights and their pet dragon show up!"
"Achoo!" Kana sneezes. "I don't recall today having a high pollen warning..."
Suddenly, her communicator goes off. "Alca-Noise signal detected!" Sakuya reported. "They're at point S-16! Approximately fifty detected!"
"Roger! I'm on my way!" Kana says. "Is anyone else close to that location?"
"I am!" Chris answers. "Don't keep me waiting for backup!"
"Killter Ichaival tron"
(GUN BULLET XXX begins to play)
Once she transformed, Chris summoned a giant missile to speed up the process of getting over to Maria and co.'s location. Thanks to the missile's speed, she was able to quickly spot the four Wielders running for their lives from the Alca-Noise while Maria carried the old lady on her back. As soon as she was close enough to them, Chris proceeded to maneuver around the Alca-Noise from above and destroy them with bolts from her dual crossbows.
"Heh. What a show-off." Kanade chuckles.
"We're saved!" Kirika cheers. "I wish I was like her!"
"We'll leave them to you!" Maria calls out to Chris before she starts to run again. "Let's go!"
"Chris-chan has arrived!" Aoi reported.
"She's engaged the enemy!" Sakuya added.
"The alchemists are incredibly dangerous!" Genjuro said to Chris. "Wait for the others to arrive before engaging further."
"I would if I could..."
"...But I'm afraid it's a little too late for that!" Chris says as she began to dodge the barrage of attacks Cagliostro slung at her.
"I missed you soooo much! Oh, the estrogen within me is boiling my brain!" Cagliostro excitedly cheered as she threw attack after attack at Chris. The Ichaival Wielder did her best to avoid and counter all of Cagliostro's projectiles, but it was only a matter of time before a clean shot at the missile's thruster brought her back to the ground. "Finally, you're close to me!"
The Alchemist threw her hands back as she summoned several alchemic circles that turned into a massive barrage of blasts, leaving Chris with no other choice but to retreat with some handsprings to any sort of cover she could find. Once she's able to find cover, she waits until the barrage ends, using the smoke to transform her crossbows into a longbow, preparing an ARTHEMIS SPIRAL and aiming it right at Cagliostro.
"You panicked and brought out the big guns, huh?" Cagliostro taunted as she dashed behind the longbow. "But that was a fatal mistake. You're wide open."
"I'd beg to differ." A new voice chimes in, which prompted Cagliostro to turn and see Kana was standing right behind her with a Dragon Shot aimed directly at her chest. "You're the one who's wide open!" Kana let the Dragon Shot loose and watched as it sent Cagliostro flying before it exploded mid-air and sent her falling back to the ground below.
Chris chuckles as Cagliostro fell. "Wasn't sure if it'd be you or the idiot that showed up first." Chris says.
Kana took off her mask and smirks at her girlfriend. "Well, you wouldn't be wrong to expect that." She says. "After all, they weren't too far behind me."
Cagliostro picked herself up off the ground and faced the Wielders, but as she did, she felt something touching her hand. When she turned around, she was met with a reflection of herself. "A wall?"
"A wall? How boorish of you to call my sword a mere wall!" Tsubasa retorts from atop her massive sword.
Suddenly, Hibiki and Serena arrived at the scene and stood on opposite sides of the sword from each other. "Surrender!" Serena demands. "Even though you're an alchemist, your odds of defeating five Wielders alone are slim to none!"
Cagliostro looked around at the five Wielders. "Great... Team traffic lights are all here... As well as their pet dragon..." She said.
"Hey!" Kana shouts. "I'm not a pet!"
Suddenly, Cagliostro began to hear a voice in her head.
"Your time of playing the maverick is at an end. Return at once."
Saint-Germain ordered Cagliostro, who scoffed in annoyance, but followed orders regardless as she threw down a teleportation capsule. "Well, this has been a fun little party. I'll be sure to bring my new outfit for the next one." She said to the Wielders. "I do hope you look forward to it. Bye!"
Meanwhile, the four Wielders that ran away from the Alca-Noise got the old farmer lady to a safer location away from the main base, with Maria putting her down on the ground not long after arriving. "Thank you, dear." The woman said.
"You're welcome." Maria replies.
"I'll go grab some water dess." Kirika says as she runs off to go find some water for the Wielders and the old lady.
"Wait, Kiri-chan! I'll go with you!" Shirabe adds as she runs after Kirika.
The lady chuckled as she watched them leave. "They're quite energetic, aren't they?"
"Are you hurt, ma'am?" Maria asks the woman.
"I'm fine." The woman answered. "But you must be exhausted, dear. I made trouble for you by staying around."
"No... If we had the power to protect you, none of this would've happened." Maria solemnly replies.
"That reminds me!" The lady said, taking the basket of tomatoes off of her back and placing it on the ground. "Since you're here, you both should try a tomato, too!"
The lady handed Kanade and Maria each a tomato. Kanade, out of curiosity from earlier, took the tomato she was given. Maria, however... "I-I'm not much of a tomato person."
"Ah, c'mon, Maria!" Kanade nudges Maria. "I'm sure one bite won't kill you. After all, the kids liked 'em, so why not?"
Still hesitant, Maria finally takes the tomato after seeing the insistent look on the lady's face. "Okay, I'll try just a little bit."
Once Maria took the tomato from the old lady, she and Kanade bit into their tomatoes at the same time. Immediately, both of them were taken aback at how good it tasted. "Mmm! Damn! That shit good!" Kanade shouts as she begins to take more bites out of the tomato.
"It's sweet! Like a fruit!" Maria comments.
"The trick to raising sweet tomatoes is to put them in a harsh environment." The lady stated. "If you wait until the last second to give them water, they gain a natural sweetness."
Maria was surprised to hear this. "And they don't wilt from the harshness?"
"Spoiling them too much is actually what ruins them in the end." The lady answered. "The best harvests are the ones that have endured the harshest times."
The farmer's words spoke to Maria in a way that herself and three people close to her would understand. "Only after the harshest times, huh?"
The old lady patted Maria on the leg. "In some ways, humans and tomatoes are practically the same."
S.O.N.G. Agents POV:
Once the short battle with Cagliostro was wrapped up, S.O.N.G. immediately went back to focusing on the decryption of the Val Verde documents. Unfortunately... "The decryption isn't going very well..." Elfnein reports.
While this wasn't exactly the best news, the worst was yet to come. "Commander, we're receiving a call from Kamakura." Aoi reports.
This shocked Genjuro, but he already knew this wasn't going to end well. "He came to us directly, huh?" Genjuro says aloud to himself. "Put him through."
"Yes, sir." Aoi says as she began to type away at her computer. "Onscreen."
Immediately, a screen showed up on the main monitor of a shadowy figure with long white hair and a brown kimono sitting in a dark office. "Pathetic." The figure said. "Not only did you allow the enemy inside of a sealed area, you failed to defeat them."
"I have no excuse for these failures." Genjuro replies. "I'm sorry, sir."
"I allowed the use of the facilities to indebt the UN to us." The figure continued. "However, we cannot allow the core of our nation's defense to be put in danger for such a goal!"
"Of course."
"You are to drive these barbarians from the land of Japan and never allow them to reenter!" With that said, the figure known as Kamakura hung up the call, which allowed Genjuro to breathe again.
"He's not the boss for nothing..."
"But, Commander, why did the enemy follow us here to Matsushiro?" Ogawa asks. "What could they be after?"
"If I had to guess, they're either after the Val Verde documents or they wish to settle things with the Wielders." Genjuro says. "Although, there's a chance they're after something else..."
Later that evening, Aoi and Elfnein were still working in the mobile command center while the others left to handle other matters. However, some people decided to come in and check up on them. "Tomosato-san." Shirabe said, handing the agent a cup of warm tea. "Here. It'll warm you up."
"Dess!" Kirika added in agreement.
Aoi gladly took the drink from the Shul Shagana Wielder's hands. "Thanks. It certainly feels warm." She says. "I'm so used to this being the other way around. It's a nice change of pace."
"Here's one for you too, Elfnein-chan." Serena said, placing a cup of tea on the Alchemist's desk.
"Thank you." Elfnein replies.
"Is that your research? How's it going?" Maria asked as she looked at Elfnein's computer screen. Elfnein didn't respond. However, after taking a closer look at the monitor, Maria recognized some of the faces that were on the screen. "Wait, is this what I think it is?"
"Yes." Elfnein answers. "I thought, with us needing the LiNKER as soon as possible, that this was necessary."
"Is something wrong, Maria?" Serena asked.
"...This brings back some horrible memories..." Maria stated. "Since we were unable to serve as Finé's vessel, we orphans were used in experiments to increase our compatibility values."
Maria's Flashback:
F.I.S. HQ
A year before the Queens of Music concert, Maria, Shirabe, and Kirika were being used in experiments as Maria had mentioned. However, compared to how she was at said concert, Maria had a lot of trouble controlling her Gungnir to the point that she was practically being tortured by using it. "I can't do it, Mom..." Maria said as she caught her breath on the ground. "I can't be like Serena."
Nastassja, in comparison to how she is now, was harsher on the F.I.S. trio. "Maria. Giving up is not permitted here." She said. "You agreed to wield and overcome evil, no matter how thorny the path."
"...It's a good thing Kana saved you from those times." Maria continued. "Because, if your values weren't already as high as hers and the others, I know that I wouldn't have been able to handle watching you suffer as we had..."
"Maria-neesan..."
Suddenly, alarms began to blare from Aoi's console. "Multiple Alca-Noise signals!" Aoi reports. "They're heading towards the Kazanari Agency's headquarters from Matsushiro 3rd Elementary School!"
"That's where we took the tomato lady!" Kirika gasped.
"Maria!"
"Yeah." Maria said as herself and the other F.I.S. Wielders ran for the exit of the mobile command center.
"You mustn't! You three don't have any LiNKER!" Elfnein shouts.
However, as they're about to leave, Genjuro blocks the exit. "Where are you going?" He asks.
"Tsubasa's team can take care of the enemy. We'll evacuate the civilians." Maria answered.
"Understood." Genjuro says as he steps aside. "Don't do anything reckless, you three."
"Right."
"And Serena, once the civilians are evacuated, meet up with the others." Genjuro says to Serena.
"Understood, Commander!" Serena agreed.
The Wielders' POVs:
Meanwhile, Hibiki, Tsubasa, Chris, and Kana stood between the horde of Alca-Noise and the Kazanari Agency's HQ, all clad in their Symphogears. "There's so many..." Hibiki says.
"We can't let them through!" Chris adds.
"Let's not waste anymore time." Tsubasa says.
"I'll hold the line back here in case there's any stragglers." Kana states. "Now, let's finish them!"
"Right!" The other three Wielders shout in unison as they grab their active pendants.
"Ignite Module! Drawn Blade!"
(Gekishō Infinity (IGNITED arrangement) begins to play)
Kana watches from the backlines as the trio of Chris, Hibiki, and Tsubasa activate their Ignited Gears and go to town on the Alca-Noise. "The Ignite Module sure is incredible. And once Elfnein's able to get LiNKER back to Kanade and the others, I imagine the Alchemists won't stand a chance against us!" She says to herself confidently. However, as she was busy watching the spectacle that was the ignited onslaught of Alca-Noise, she noticed three silhouettes standing atop a nearby building and immediately recognized them. "Girls! We've got company!"
The ignited trio saw the Alchemists on the nearby rooftop, as well as the bright red gleams that came from them for a moment. Tsubasa, being the closest to them, flew straight into the air and set her blades ablaze.
Soaring Phoenix's Slash (Ignite Module ver.)
"I, Tsubasa Kazanari, shall be your opponent!" Tsubasa shouts at the Alchemists as she approaches them, her flames turning blue as she became faster. "You cannot hope to withstand my blazing blades!"
Tsubasa slashes at the Alchemists. However, her blades are blocked by a barrier at the last moment. Normally, Tsubasa would be able to break through this kind of defense, but as she tried to put more power into her attack, her Symphogear started screaming. "My Gear?!"
Tsubasa was knocked back in a massive explosion, falling to the concrete as her Ignite Module ended without warning. "Tsubasa-san!" Hibiki gasps as she looks over to see Tsubasa in her base Gear struggling to even stand.
Seeing this happen to someone like Tsubasa immediately made the Wielders focus their attention to where the Alchemists were standing. Needless to say, they were all shocked by what they saw: The Alchemists were wearing entirely different outfits and were surrounded by a golden aura that was akin to the fiery aura of the Ignite Module. "Gods..." Kana says. "Are those..."
"Faust Robes?!" Hibiki adds, finishing Kana's question.
Both Hibiki and Kana were petrified with fear at the sight of the Alchemists' new power. However, Chris was consumed by rage more than she was fear. "How dare you!" She shouts as she prepares to fire a MEGA DETH PARTY at the Alchemists. "I'll make you pay for doing that to senpai!"
Unfazed by the rage-driven Yukine, Prelati held the kendama in her hand skyward, causing it to grow in size. After that, she tossed the ball of the kendama into the air and made a barrier that successfully blocked all of the missiles Chris shot at them.
But now it was time for the Alchemists to go on the offensive, with Cagliostro leading the charge through the smoke of Chris' attack by firing a beam straight at her. Chris responds by quickly putting up her own barrier to nullify the blast. "That all you got?" She taunts... Right before her Gear started to scream just as Tsubasa's did. Soon after this happened. Chris' barrier went down and Cagliostro's beam sent her flying into the nearby wall. "My Ignite..."
"Chris!" Kana shouts as she started to run towards her injured girlfriend. But as she started running that way, she saw Saint-Germain land behind Hibiki, aiming her gun right at her head. "Hibiki! Behind you!"
Hibiki turned around to see the Faust Robed Alchemist. Knowing she had no time to dodge, Hibiki braced herself for Saint-Germain's attack. She heard the sound of the trigger being pulled and the bullet being shot, but she didn't feel anything. Curious, she opened her eyes and saw a ball of light floating behind her. As if Hibiki's attention was a queue of sorts, the ball exploded right in her face.
"Hibiki!" Kana shouts, worried for her friend's life. Kana waited on baited breath until the smoke cleared, only able to breathe again when she saw Hibiki in one piece on the ground in her base Gear. "Those monsters... How were they able to surpass Ignite so easily?"
"Faust Robes formed of Lapis Philosophorum." Saint-Germain stated to Hibiki. "This is the pinnacle of alchemy, uniting the philosophers' stone with the human body."
"We used the data from the Château de Tiffauges' analysis of the world's composition." Prelati added. "Basically, this wouldn't have been possible without it."
Hibiki looked up towards Saint-Germain. "If you intend to use that power to hurt others... I swear..."
"Hurt others? Please." Saint-Germain said. "Our only wish is to free mankind. We seek to break the chains of oppression."
"And how exactly do you plan to 'free mankind'? With senseless violence?" Kana asks sarcastically. "Or has this entire conflict of ours been petty vengeance?"
"Yeah..." Hibiki weakly agrees. "If you're trying to help mankind, then surely we can work together..."
"Working together?" Saint-Germain pondered Hibiki's words.
"Saint-Germain, let's hurry up and finish this already." Cagliostro said.
Kana snickered as she turned to face Cagliostro. "Took the words right out of my mouth." She says as she reaches for her pendant. "You may have taken down the Ignite Module with ease, but you'd do well not to underestimate my Radi-" Kana stopped herself as a light suddenly shined over the area they were in.
"That light!" Cagliostro gasped.
Kana was confused when she saw Cagliostro's shock. "What... Is that?" Kana asks.
Saint-Germain grit her teeth, knowing what, or rather, who was responsible for that light. "Controlling Director Adam Weishaupt!" She said. "Why are you here?"
At the source of the light was a long purple-haired man dressed in a white suit with golden accents, a matching fedora and tie, and a light blue undershirt. When Saint-Germain asked her question to him, he chuckled as he tossed aside his fedora and made the ball of fire in his hand expand outward, burning his clothes but not even singeing his skin or hair.
"What is the meaning of this exhibition?" Prelati asked.
"What else could I be doing, my dear?" Adam rhetorically asked in return. "I'm transmuting gold. After all, we're alchemists!" Saying this, Adam raised the ball above his head, expanding it in size drastically as its light practically blinded anyone who looked straight at it.
At the mobile base, agents were frantically running about as they tried to evacuate the scene. "He's using alchemy to cause nuclear fusion at normal temperatures?!" Elfnein thought aloud.
"Not only has a new enemy appeared, but we're also detecting two Airgetlám, Shul Shagana, and Igalima on the battlefield!" Sakuya reported.
"Maria-san and the others are not using LiNKER!" Aoi added. "The strain is ripping their bodies apart!"
"Let's get out of here before we're caught up in the director's Golden Transmutation!" Saint-Germain shouted to the other Alchemists as they all quickly threw down teleportation crystals and got out of the area.
"I need to get the others out of here!" Kana says aloud to herself as she grabbed her pendant and said...
"Radiance Module! Awaken!"
(Justice RIP (Flame) begins to play)
Kana activated her Radiance Module and started rushing over to the others, but then she remembered something important. "Shit! There's still people in the facility!" She thought to herself. "I don't have time to save them and the others!"
However, as Kana was about to give up and only save the Wielders, the sounds of Alca-Noise being destroyed filled the air as she was met with Maria, Serena, Kirika, and Shirabe, all clad in their Ignited Gears. "Have you all lost your minds?!" Kana shouts to the others. "That thing is going to destroy this entire area!"
"We know!" Serena replies. "But you won't have enough time to get all three of them out of here without help!"
"But what about the people in the-"
"There's no time, Kana!" Serena shouts. "We need to leave. Now!"
Kana was shaken by Serena's shout, but it was enough to get her point across. "Dammit!" Kana mutters under her breath as she rushes over to the other Ignited Wielders who had gathered the partially conscious ones.
"The estimated destructive power of the energy is over ten megatons, and rising fast!" Sakuya reported.
"It's Tunguska-class?!" Genjuro shouted in shock.
Kana and Serena met up with the others. Once they were together, Kana noticed that Adam was about to throw the fireball at them and came up with a plan on the spot. "Serena! Carry me and start running!" Kana says.
Serena was confused by her step-sister's request, but obliged all the same. "I hope you know what you're doing!"
"I am." Kana replies. "Stay close to us everyone! RUN!"
Shouting this, the FIS Wielders began to run away from Adam as he threw down the fireball. While they ran for their lives, Kana began to glow white as she focused her magic. "Please work..."
The fireball hit the ground as was right on the Wielders' tails. "Even if our bodies break, we won't let you die!" Maria shouts, unaware of the aura around her that was giving her the strength to keep going.
"Kana! Anytime now!" Serena shouts to Kana as the explosion gets closer and closer to them. "KANA!"
"Ready!" Kana replies as she stretches her hands out, utilizing her dragon fang to turn them into spears. "Everyone! Grab on!" Without hesitation, the Wielders reach for the extended arms as a flash of white engulfs the eight of them, unsure if it was the explosion consuming them, or if Kana had saved them.
Adam's POV:
Once the explosion faded away, Adam emotionlessly looks upon the destruction that he caused with his Golden Transmutation. He didn't care what was destroyed, but what he did care about was the objects that were now in his hand: two small golden balls of varying sizes. He laughs as he looked at them. "This tiny amount?" He jokes as he flies away from the crater. "Damn, life sure is cheap, huh?"
A/N: And with that, we end the chapter!
Not much to add this time around, but I will say I originally planned to show what effect the Bavarian Illuminati's Faust Robes had on Kana's Radiance Module. But, considering how it'll affect her Gear, it would've thrown off the desired pacing of this chapter. Rest assured, The fight between Kana and the Illuminati is still planned to happen within the next couple of chapters, so stay tuned for that!
But again, thank you for reading this chapter, I shall see you all in the next one!
