Part 4:
Through Many Tears, The Reality of Your Fate is Shown.
Chapter 11:
Unlikely Allies and Surprising Truths


S.O.N.G. Staff's/Wielders and Saint-Germain's POVs:
S.O.N.G./Ritual Site


Everyone still in the command center looked at the monitor in disbelief as they saw the Illuminati's Autoscorer surrounded by a power beyond human comprehension, and with it, how much slimmer their odds became if it took an entire superb song just to block a single attack. "So that thing has the power of a god?" Tsubasa mutters with a clenched fist.

"Isn't there anything we can do to stop it?" Maria asks.

Hearing this, Chris remembers something that was mentioned earlier that day. "That's it! The God-Killer!" Chris shouts. "Have we been able to find out who or what it is so we can stop this thing?"

"Ogawa's leading intelligence on the search for it. However, we have yet to come across any solid leads." Genjuro answers. "The best we can hope for right now is that Hibiki-kun and the others can hold their ground against that Divine Power until we can find it."

Chris tsks as she looked back at the monitor with a mix of frustration and worry, both at the overwhelming odds in front of herself and the other wielders, as well as for the safety of her friends and girlfriend that are left to face these odds without help from herself, Tsubasa, Maria, or Shirabe and Kirika...


Meanwhile on the battlefield, the Wielders and Saint-Germain readied themselves to fight against Adam and the divine-powered Tiki. "The divine power should be used for the betterment of mankind!" Saint-Germain shouts as she raises her gun towards Adam. "It's not for any one person to use as they see fit!"

"The betterment of mankind? Give me a break!" Adam scoffed as he threw his hat towards the Alchemist, its rim becoming engulfed in flames as it approached.

Saint-Germain shot at the hat to try and stop the hat, but her bullets weren't even slightly slowing it down. However, where the bullets failed, Hibiki's fist did not as she was able to stop the hat in its tracks and deflect it back to Adam, who put the hat back on his head once it reached him. "Why did you protect me?" Saint-Germain asks.

"Because I'm just selfish like that. Or at least, that's what my best friend says." Hibiki answers.

"Selfish?" Saint-Germain thought aloud.

"It's as much of a blessing as it is a curse sometimes." Kana states. "Either way, that selfishness comes in handy when it counts."

"It doesn't matter how many of you there are." Adam stated as he began to conjure up several fireballs in his hands. "Regardless, you will all die as weak as you were alive!"

Adam let loose all of the fireballs he had conjured onto the Wielders and Alchemist, who dodged out of the way as quickly as they could. Once they found their footing again, Saint-Germain and Kana began to shoot back at Adam with their bullets and dragon shots respectively, but even with their combined firepower, Adam was effortlessly dodging and nullifying their attacks. "Tsk... We can't even scratch him..." Kana scoffs.

"There was once a time when I thought I was going to be crushed by others." Hibiki says, landing next to Saint-Germain. "Kana did everything she could to try and protect me from them, but it just put her in the same position that I was in. But there were others to help her fight back that oppression, things could've been different. So when I thought about that, how I wanted to talk with you and not fight you, my body moved on its own."

Saint-Germain was taken aback by this, but at the same time, deep down, she was moved by her reason. With this, the Alchemist came up with a plan. "Hibiki Tachibana... Your target is Tiki, the doll serving as a vessel for the power of the gods." She says, pointing towards Tiki in the red pillar of light, who was mumbling the same phrase over and over as the divine power entered her body.


"Tiki... Tiki... Tiki... An.. Tiky... Thera."


If the vessel is destroyed, the divine power will be incomplete." Saint-Germain continues. "Our temporary alliance does not mean we are friends... It is merely me choosing to be selfish."

Hibiki was surprised by Saint-Germain, but her shock was quickly replaced by an excited grin. "Well, if you're going to be selfish, then I guess I don't have a choice!" Hibiki says. "Saint-Germain! For the sake of everyone, let's fight together!"

(Hanasaku Yūki begins to play)

As Hibiki said this, Adam landed on the ground, and with that, the Wielder and Alchemist duo charged at the Controlling Director. However, even with their combined efforts, Adam continued to effortlessly dodge everything they threw at him. "So, you honestly think you stand a chance against me with your combined forces?" Adam chuckled, dodging Saint-Germain's bullets and blocking Hibiki's punches as he did. "Come on now. Surely the two of you can do better than thi-"

Just as Adam was about to taunt the duo, Kana suddenly appeared behind him and shot him point-blank with a Dragon Shot, knocking him off his guard as he was left wide open to a follow-up attack from Hibiki, who punched him back the way Kana had sent him. "Forgetting someone?" Kana taunts as Adam scowled at her, which only made Kana smirk arrogantly.


Back at HQ, the Agents and other Wielders watch as the trio fought off against Adam, which was rather surprising to some to say the least. "How is it that those two can just go from being at odds one moment to joining forces with them like nothing happened?" Chris asks.

"I personally wouldn't go questioning something that you've personally dealt with before, Yukine." Tsubasa says, which made Chris blush.

"E-Even still, this guy's not exactly on the same level as they are like I was back then." Chris retorts.

"You're right about that." Maria adds. "With every second this battle goes on, they're more and more at a disadvantage."


Back on the battlefield, Kanade and Serena watched as the trio kept Adam at bay to the best of their abilities, and with that, the elder Gungnir Wielder got an idea. "That's it!"

"What's up, Kanade?" Serena asks.

"You heard what Saint-Germain said earlier, yeah?" Kanade asks in return, getting a nod from Serena. "If all we need to do to stop them from getting that divine power is bust up that doll, then we have the best opportunity to do it since he hasn't put any attention towards us!"

Serena's eyes went wide as she too came to this realization. "You're right!" She says. "So, do you have a plan? Or are we just gonna go in now?"

"Oh no, I've got the perfect plan." Kanade answers, as she proceeds to whisper said plan into Serena's ear.


Back with the trio, now that they had dealt some damage to Adam, Hibiki took the opportunity they had and charged right towards Tiki as Kana gave her a boost in power and Saint-Germain provided her with some platforms to reach Tiki. Everything seemed like Hibiki was going to make it and end this once and for all, but suddenly...

"I won't let you get any closer!"

Adam appeared between Tiki and Hibiki, knocking the latter back towards Saint-Germain and Kana with a massive slash of wind. "The only one around here that is allowed to touch every last part of Tiki is myself and myself alone!"


"I feel it coursing through me!"


As Tiki shouted this, her body began to glow even brighter than it had before, which was becoming increasingly concerning for everyone except for Adam. "We're running out of time..." Hibiki says.

"We need to find a way to keep him down, but how can we do that when this guy just doesn't seem to run out of power?" Kana thought aloud.

As Kana said this, Saint-Germain realized something was off. "Controlling Director, what happened to that Golden Transmutation that you were so proud of? You have no reason to hold back against us, so why do you refrain from wiping us off the face of the planet?" Saint-Germain asks, which annoys Adam. "You weren't expecting to have to resort to using the heavenly ley lines originally. Opening that gate has weakened you greatly, meaning that you currently lack the power needed to perform a Golden Transmutation."

"I was wondering why he hadn't outright killed us yet." Kana says. "Looks like we still have a chance after all!"

"Then let's not waste it!" Hibiki adds as she transforms one of her gauntlets and prepares to finish this fight.

"...No one likes people who are too smart for their own good." Adam says in a deadpan tone.

Her point proven, Saint-Germain loaded her gun and fired a massive flaming wolf towards Adam, who responded in kind by throwing his hat at it, blocking the attack. However, this was only a diversion from the real attacker: Hibiki, who flew through the smoke left by the blocked bullet to punch Adam.

Despite the surprise, Adam was still able to stop Hibiki's punch before she could land another hit. But, again, this was all part of the Wielders and Alchemist's plan. "Kana! Now!" Hibiki shouts as she kept the pressure on Adam.

Confused, Adam saw Kana flying in from the side at a very high speed. "This ends now!" Kana shouts, as she flew between Hibiki and Adam, perfectly slicing the Controlling Director's arm off.


"Now!"

Hearing Kana's shout, Kanade and Serena emerged from the tree line and leapt towards Tiki, throwing their weapons at her with all of their might. Everyone watched on baited breath as the weapons flew towards Tiki, victory mere moments away from happening... But their chance at victory was short-lived...

Just as the weapons were about to reach Tiki, a beam of light shot up towards the lance and daggers, knocking them out of the air. "What?!" Kanade gasps. "Who in the hell did that?!"

The duo of Wielders looked around the area, before they saw Adam's remaining hand outstretched as he gave them an intense glare. "You really thought I forgot about you two?"

"He's still standing?" Serena gasps.

Kanade scoffs. "Must be one tough bastard if he's still able to stand after all that."

"Wait, Kanade! Look at his left arm!" Serena shouts, getting everyone's attention as they all look to see Adam's arm. At first, much like any other time someone gets a limb forcefully removed from their body, they all expected to see Adam profusely bleeding onto his clothes, but the truth was a lot more shocking... His arm was completely robotic, and sparking from the exposed wiring to boot.

"Gods..." Kana gasps.

Saint-Germain was left speechless by the truth of Adam that was just brought to light. "All this time... The director of the Illuminati, the master of all alchemists... Was nothing more than..."

"A puppet?" Hibiki says.

"A puppet?" Adam asked, angered by the way Hibiki described him. "You dare call me a Puppet?!"


"How dare you... I'll make you pay for hurting Adam!"


Suddenly, Tiki began to glow even brighter than she had before, forcing the Wielders to shield their eyes as her light engulfed the entire forest. "What's happening?" Kana asks.

"This light..." Saint-Germain says worriedly. "It's being born!"


Back at HQ, in the medical wing, Shirabe had been at Kirika's side ever since she learned that Kana brought her there. As she watched over her bedside, Lilith stayed in the room to make sure Kirika wasn't suffering from any aftereffects to her overdose of LiNKER after it had been flushed out of her system. "You know, Shirabe-chan. Kirika-chan should be fine for now if you want to go back to the command center." Lilith states. "I can come find you once she wakes up."

"That's very kind of you Lilith-san, but I'd rather stick with Kiri-chan for the moment." Shirabe replies. "Besides, it's not like I can do anything other than hope that Hibiki-san and the others can take care of things."

"Right. Elfnein-chan's still working on your Gears. That completely slipped my mind." Lilith says. "In that case, I'll go report Kirika-chan's condition to the Commander. If anything happens while I'm gone, come find me."

"Sure thing, Lilith-sa-"

"Hibiki... San..." Kirika mumbles, catching both Shirabe and Lilith's attention.

"Kiri-chan?" Shirabe asks, slightly nudging Kirika.

Suddenly, Kirika bolted upright in her bed with an audible gasp. "Hibiki-san! Kana-sama!" She screams.

"Kiri-chan! It's okay!" Shirabe shouts in return as she holds the bewildered Wielder to calm her down.

"Take some deep breaths and try to calm yourself, Kirika-chan." Lilith requests.

Hearing this, Kirika did just that, letting out a sigh after a couple deep breaths. "Sorry about that dess. I had one of the craziest dreams of my entire life: There was this massive laser that was gonna destroy me, Hibiki-chan, and Kana-sama, so I used my Superb Song to try and block it, but I failed and we all died." Kirika says, which made Shirabe and Lilith look at one another before looking back at Kirika. "What's wrong?"

"Well, aside from the last part of your 'dream', that's pretty much exactly what happened, Kirika-chan." Lilith answers. "After you saved everyone from that laser, Kana brought you back here to HQ so that we could flush the excess LiNKER from your system, which is why we're currently in the medical wing."

"Oh..." Kirika says, looking around and finally noticing where she was, before thinking back to the battle that she was in a while ago. "Did we win?"


Meanwhile in the command center, everyone was also blinded by the red light that engulfed the ritual site. "What the hell is going on over there?!" Chris asks, as the light started to die down.

"Visuals are back online!" Sakuya reports.

"Putting it on screen!" Aoi adds as she put the resumed visuals back on the main screen.

Once they were able to see the screen again, everyone was shocked by what they saw. "What... on earth?"


Back on the battlefield, Saint-Germain and the Wielders looked up in the sky where Tiki was, sharing the same speechless expressions as their allies back at HQ thanks to what they were witnessing firsthand.

Tiki had transformed into a gigantic monster that looked human in the top half, fish-like in the bottom half, and completely surrounded in a golden aura similar to the one Yohaultepuztli had back in Val Verde. Alongside this giant form, the monster had a coffin-shaped crystal on its neck, which was where Tiki's body was being stored as she served as the heart of this godly being.

"It... It can't be..." Kana thought to herself, the giant's very being making her recall her screams from her nightmare.

"The divine power has been manifested." Adam stated. "Although, I was originally planning to take this power for myself..."

"I'm sorry." Tiki said to Adam. "I saw that they were hurting you and I couldn't help myself."

"What's done is done." Adam replied, unbothered by the fact Tiki manifested the power fully. "However, since we're here... Let's show them just what divine power is capable of. Show them the true terror of the Divine Weapon!"

Upon his command, the divine weapon started to charge up power in the blue crystals on its arms. Once it had finished charging, the weapon unleashed its power upon the Wielders and Saint-Germain, devastating the ground they stood on, as well as the various buildings and the forest that were nearby, reducing the city to nothing more than a wasteland.

The Wielders and Saint-Germain did what they could to try and avoid the divine weapon's rampage, but in the end, they were all hit with the shockwaves from each explosion. Though they had not suffered any major wounds, they practically felt like it from all their bruises, scratches, and burns. "That thing has too much power for its own good..." Kanade remarks as she got back up, coughing while she brushed debris off of her armor.

"Do we even stand a chance against something with that kind of power?" Serena asks.

"You kept asking me before if I was inhuman, Saint-Germain." Adam said. "Well, you were right. I am inhuman. Because I was never human to begin with."

"Adam Weishaupt, what are you?" Saint-Germain asks Adam as he descended to the ground once more.

"They created me to serve as their representative." He answered.

"'They'?" Hibiki asks.

"But they discarded me while I was still a prototype. They threw me out under the completely nonsensical reason that I was 'too perfect'." Adam continued. "It made no sense. The perfect can never be inferior to the imperfect."

"And what does any of that have to do with going after something like divine power?" Kana asks.

"Simple: I plan to rectify this flaw in the world, by ruling over both the perfect and imperfect!" Adam answered, giving Tiki another order to fire the divine weapon again.

Seeing this, Hibiki grit her teeth and began to ready herself to jump. "Hibiki?!" Kana gasps.

"What do you think you're doing?" Saint-Germain asks.

"I can't let that thing open fire like that again!" Hibiki replies as she activates her boosters and leaps for the godly being.

With this leap, Hibiki manages to land one clean blow on the monstrous being's face, shattering one of the blue jewels as she redirects the attack skywards, destroying a satellite that was unfortunately in the path of the attack. As this happened, the divine powered Tiki smacks Hibiki away in retaliation for the punch.

"Cagliostro and Prelati lost their lives for this?!" Saint-Germain thought aloud as she could only stare in horror at the overwhelming power of the divine weapon.


Back at HQ, thanks to aftereffects from the divine weapon's attack, S.O.N.G. had lost visual on the scene and were now completely in the dark as to how things were proceeding. However, they were about to be caught up to speed very shortly.

"We've just received word from the Sielje Region." Sakuya reports. "The redirected attack struck a US military satellite, annihilating it in seconds."

"What about the Wielders on the field and Saint-Germain?" Genjuro asks.

"All cameras within the area are still down." Sakuya answers. "I'm searching for any other accessible means of securing a visual in that area."

"Commander! All of the ministries are trying to reach us!" Aoi reports.

"They can wait!" Genjuro says. "Right now, we need to-"

"What is going on?" Before he could finish his sentence, Fudo Kazanari called S.O.N.G. HQ, which made Genjuro freeze in his tracks. "I said, what is going on?"

Genjuro quickly composed himself as he answered Fudo's question. "We're still trying to confirm everything we can ourselves."


"Fools, all of you." Fudo replied. "The whole world is already aware of what is going on out there, and their next move is plain to see: They'll combine their forces under the guise of a peacekeeping mission, waving the flag of the United Nations to invade our country. What's left to understand, boy?"

"But we still have options to handle this matter ourselves!" Genjuro says. "That's what we're here for!"

Frustrated, Fudo hung up the call and sighed. "In the end, it appears that only I, a true sentinel, must bear the responsibility of defending this country."


"What was that about?" Maria asks Tsubasa.

"It means that the head of the Kazanari family is going to get involved in this battle." Tsubasa answers, which both herself and Genjuro are equally frustrated by.

"I've regained visual on the battlefield!" Sakuya reports. "Putting it on screen now!"

With visual of the battlefield once again restored, everyone was greeted by the sight of Hibiki, seemingly unconscious on the ground. "What the hell is that idiot doing?!" Chris shouts. "Now is not the time to be sleeping on the job!"

"Hibiki-san!" A familiar voice called out as they heard someone rush into the Command center, surprising everyone when they saw who it was.

"Kirika-kun?!" Genjuro gasps.

"While I'm relieved to see you're okay, Kirika, you should be resting after that stunt you pulled!" Maria says.

"Believe me, Lilith-san and I tried telling her that, but she wouldn't take no for an answer." Shirabe replies.

"Even if I can't go back out there and help them, I can't sit idly by while I have no idea how my friends are doing!" Kirika adds, before she gets sidetracked by seeing the divine weapon for the first time. "WHAT THE HECK IS THAT THING DESS?!"


"A-Adam... Did I do good?" Tiki asked. "P-Please tell me I did g-good..."

"You're a good girl, Tiki." Adam said.

"Then why won't you hug me?" Tiki asked. "I can only know that you think I did good if you hug me."

"As much as I'd love to do that, I'm afraid that I can't right now." Adam sighed. "Given that you're currently far greater in size than I am, I would not be able to hug you."

"You're so mean!" Tiki said. "But I love that about you, too..."


As this happened, Kana, Saint-Germain, and the other conscious Wielders continued to throw everything they had at the divine weapon, but even with their combined might, Tiki could simply nullify all of their attacks, regardless of how much effect they had on her divine form. "Great... It has the same bullshit as that snake from Val Verde..." Kanade says with a scowl.

"So it can nullify all of our attacks AND dish out damage that's practically on par with our X-Drive forms? How convenient..." Kana sighs.

"I hate to be the one to say it, but I think this is far beyond even all nine of us at our strongest, and that's with Saint-Germain now on our side to boot..." Serena adds.

"Humanity is imperfect." Adam stated. "But, with a perfect ruler leading them, it can be transformed into a perfect colony."

"You're completely insane, puppet!" Saint-Germain shouts to Adam.

"And you're a failure of an Alchemist." Adam retorted. "If you truly sought perfection, you'd bow down and accept my rule!"

"We fought solely for freedom from the oppression of others, and you used us for your own gain!" Saint-Germain shouts. "Our ideals, our dreams, the countless lives sacrificed... Everything is gone."

Adam smirked as he looked down at the exhausted Wielders and Alchemist, especially the unconscious Hibiki. "I won't even need the power of the divine weapon to finish this." He said, descending towards Hibiki. "I'll personally see to your death with my own two hands."

However, despite their bruises and everything in their bodies telling them to give up, Kanade and Serena walked over and stood between Adam and Hibiki, raising their weapons as they stared the controlling director down. "If you want to kill her, you're going to have to go through us first!" Serena says.

"We haven't come this far for some heartless robo-bastard to off us when we can't fight back!" Kanade adds "So how about it, you overgrown Ken doll? Think you're still top dog without your death machine Barbie? Prove it!"

Adam gave the trio a contempt stare, before he put on a smirk once more. "Just for that, you're dying first."


Back at HQ, everyone could only watch as the Wielders were helplessly beaten senseless by Adam. "Is praying for some divine intervention really all that's left for us to try?" Genjuro thought aloud.

However, while it wasn't a divine intervention, a miracle had come to S.O.N.G.'s aid when they needed it most...


"'Don't give up!' Isn't that something she would say?"


Without warning, a mysterious caller tapped into S.O.N.G. command center, telling them to not give up.

"I'm unable to trace the origin of this broadcast. It's heavily encrypted and we can't identify the speaker." Aoi reports, before suddenly receiving a massive amount of files. "This is..."

"Are those the decoded documents from Val Verde?!" Nastassja asks.


"It's every document that we have on us. The information on the God-killer contained here will be the key."


The voice said as the files continued to come in.

"Hold on! How do you know about the God-killer?" Chris asks.

As if to answer her question, Ogawa suddenly appeared on the screen. "Intelligence managed to get in contact with them during our search for the God-killer." He answers. "They agreed to help us in our search, which lead us to this:"

Saying this, an image of a relic, shaped like a spear, appeared on the monitor. "What is that?" Maria asks.


"Originally, it was the spear that was used to ensure that the child of the gods was dead. That spear holds within itself an immense power, but it did not originally have the power to kill a god."


"What happened then?" Shirabe asks.


"We believe that, over two millennia, it came to be associated with the death of a divine being, to the point of altering its true nature."


"You mean it became a philosophical weapon?" Tsubasa asks. "Like the one we discovered during the Alexandria Incident?"


"It is the very same spear that the Germans went to great lengths to acquire during the last great war:"


As the voice stated this, a familiar name appeared on the monitor over the relic, one that surprised everyone:

"GUNGNIR?!"


"That's right..."

Back on the battlefield, listening in to the conversation that was going on at HQ, Hibiki started to get back up on her feet, a sight that equally surprised and relieved the extensively wounded Wielders. "If there's still something I can do, something that requires my Gungnir..."

"They figured it out?" Adam asked aloud.

"If all it takes is just a little bit more effort..." Hibiki continues as she got back on her feet and readied herself once again to fight. "Then I'll do whatever it takes to win!"

(Unlimited Beat begins to play)

"Tiki!" Adam commanded, which made the divine weapon charge up and fire down upon Hibiki as she full-on sprinted towards the weapon. However, the weapon wasn't the only thing out to stop her. "This is as far as you go, God-killer!"

Adam threw his hat at Hibiki to stop her in her tracks, and with Hibiki in mid-air, she could not dodge it in time, but thankfully, someone came to her aid, or rather, their bullet did. "I understand now." Saint-Germain says. "Your seemingly out of nowhere Golden Transmutation wasn't meant to destroy the Symphogears. It was so you could keep them from finding out the one thing that could thwart your plan."

Catching his hat, Adam let out another sigh. "Once again, you're too smart for your own good!" He shouted, flying down to fight Saint-Germain, aiming to silence her for good.

Saint-Germain opened fire on the Controlling Director, but much like before, he dodged the bullets without fail. Seeing this, Saint-Germain decided to switch tactics and face the Director head-on with her sword, but the Director had an answer for this as well: Snapping his fingers, he brought over his severed arm, raising it high above his head as he transformed it into a makeshift sword that was more than capable of parrying the Alchemist's blade.

"Impossible!" Saint-Germain gasps.

"Now die, just like your dreams and ideals!" Adam shouted, forcing Saint-Germain onto the defensive with every swing he made. But as long as he was preoccupied fighting her, that's all the Alchemist needed.

"Go... Go!" Saint-Germain shouts. "Keep going, Hibiki Tachibana!"

Hearing her say this, Adam looked over to see Hibiki continuing to draw ever closer to the divine weapon, which made him grimace. "Damn... I let myself get carried away!" He groaned, before he was forced to defend himself as Saint-Germain took this moment of distraction to go on the offensive.

"I'll keep pressing on!" Saint-Germain proclaims as she forces Adam to back away from her. "For all I've sacrificed, for all of the sins that I alone must shoulder, I will not fail here! I can't afford to let myself give up!"

"Neither can I!" Kana adds, suddenly appearing behind Adam and knocking him onto the ground with her Gungnir Augmented Armed Gear.

"Kana Kamui!" Saint-Germain shouts in surprise.

"Can't let you two have all the fun now, can I? Plus, I figured you'd appreciate some backup to keep this bastard from getting in Hibiki's way." Kana chuckles.

Saint-Germain nods as she gave Kana a confident smirk. "Your assistance is very much appreciated." Saint-Germain says. "Shall we?"

Kana smirks back as she turns towards Adam. "With pleasure!"


Meanwhile, Hibiki jumps off of a platform in the sky and dashes towards the divine weapon, whose giant fist was heading her way as the Wielder readied her own punch in kind. "Leave my Adam alone!" Tiki shouted as the two fists collided.

Unfortunately for the divine-powered doll, colliding with Hibiki's fist was the worst thing she could've done, as it only caused her fist to shatter, giving her immense pain, and that pain continued to persist even after she tried to nullify the damage, which surprisingly failed.


"The divine weapon can't recover!" Aoi reports, which gave everyone watching that battle within HQ some hope that the Wielders, that Hibiki, could end this here and now.

"It's working... So the rumors were true?" Maria asks, still in shock by the fact that Hibiki was able to deal permanent damage to a divine being.

"The idiot really has the philosophical god-killing weapon!" Chris shouts, sharing Maria's shock.

"We can't thank you enough for your help, stranger." Lilith says.

"But the question remains: Who is this mysterious caller, and why do they have information on them?" Nastassja asks.


"Do you recall the final cargo plane that left Val Verde? That plane was carrying a number of records on it from the last war."


"I'm glad our crazy stunt back there wasn't all for nothing!" Kirika says, proud to hear that the combined efforts of herself and Shirabe to save that plane ended up saving them in their time of need.

Despite this, Genjuro was still cautious about this sudden aid from out of nowhere. "Tell me. Why are you sharing this classified information that your country discovered with us?" He asks.


"There was a song."


Genjuro was surprised by this answer. "A song?"


"One of my superiors told me about it. As the sky burned around them, they said that they heard a song. Since then, I've always hoped to hear this song myself."


Back on the battlefield, as Kana and Saint-Germain kept Adam busy, Hibiki was left to face the onslaught of Tiki's fury that came from Hibiki destroying her arm, leaving the Gungnir Wielder to fall from the sky to the broken ground below, a sight that made Adam smile. "Looks like she's finally met her end..."

"Hibiki Tachibana!" Saint-Germain shouts.

"Don't give up!" Kana shouts with her, which wakes the Wielder back up, allowing her to adjust her position as she is once again resolved to destroy the divine weapon, forming her gauntlet into a drill as she uses her boosters to fly towards Tiki.

"Stop, God-killer!" Adam pleaded, but much like the Wielder and Alchemist that were currently fighting him, his words fell on deaf ears.

"These fists are powered by the eight extremities! With them, I can open even the strongest of gates!" Hibiki degrees as she drew closer and closer to Tiki.

Seeing that stopping Hibiki was no longer an option, Adam quickly pushed Kana and Saint-Germain away and went into the air, if he couldn't stop her from destroying the main body, he could at least ensure the one wielding the power doesn't get harmed. "It's time for your hug, Tiki! Release the divine power and jump into my arms!" He shouted while holding his arms, both broken and unbroken, outward to embrace the doll.

"I love you, Adam!" Tiki shouted back as the gemstone on the divine weapon's chest ejected from the main body and flew towards the controlling director.

However, despite this attempt to preserve the doll and the power she possessed, Adam inadvertently made things a lot easier for Hibiki, who was able to quickly redirect her course and hit Tiki dead-on, the drill perfectly splitting Tiki's legs and torso as it destroyed the gemstone she was encased in.


With the one controlling the divine power destroyed, the divine weapon too was released from its physical form, reduced to nothing more than a cloud of energy in the air. Seeing this, the Wielders cheer triumphantly while Saint-Germain speechlessly stares at it.

"She did it!" Serena cheers.

"Hibiki-chan's had her moments of coming in clutch when it mattered most, but going toe to toe with something on the level of gods, that's a feat that'll be hella hard to top." Kanade says, before a thought came to mind as she looked at her spear. "Come to think of it, if Gungnir has the ability to full-on kill a god, do you think I could've just chucked mine at that giant and gotten the same result?"

"Maybe?" Serena shrugs. "But, if I can be completely honest, I'm perfectly fine with never having to find out the answer to that question, given how much trouble that gave us."

Kanade chuckles at Serena's statement. "Yeah, that's fair."


"Hibiki!" Kana cheers as she ran over to her friend's side, giving her a helping hand up to her feet. "That was amazing! I mean, you've already accomplished some pretty unbelievable things in the past, but fighting a godly being and winning? That's something else!"

"I honestly can't believe I pulled it off either." Hibiki chuckles. "But I couldn't have done it without you, Saint-Germain, and the others' help."


As the heroes celebrated Hibiki's victory, Adam looked down at the remaining functional half of Tiki in disappointment. "I love you so very much, Adam!" Tiki said, her voice box slightly distorted from the damages to her body. "Hold me! Don't let me go! Make my heart skip a beat!"

Adam sighed at the broken doll. "I always hated your romance-addled personality. It always made me want to destroy you myself." Adam said. "However, you did manage to make it out just in time, albeit a little too close for comfort. Now I just need something a bit more reliable to serve as the host for the divine power. A puppet, if you will."

As Adam thought about what would serve as a proper host, he kicked away the broken Tiki as he found the perfect host. "W-Why?" Tiki cried out in pain.

"This will serve as a much better host! I'll attach it to this arm!" Adam said, pulling out his severed arm and raising it over his head. "With this power, I am no longer Adam Weishaupt. I shall become Adam Kadmon, the very model of the new world!"

As he proclaimed this, the divine power flew past him, finding itself a new host: Hibiki Tachibana. "Hibiki?! You're glowing!" Kana gasps as she watches the divine power flow into her.

Hibiki looked down at her hands to see what Kana was talking about and she could only look at herself in both confusion and concern. "What's happening to me?" Hibiki asks aloud, before she felt a massive pain in her head as her vision started to become foggy. "K-Kana... Get away from me..."

"What?" Kana asks, completely confused by Hibiki's sudden request. "I'm not just gonna leave you to deal with this alo-"

"Now!" Hibiki screams, scaring Kana, but ultimately making the dragon girl get away from her before Hibiki would let out an ear-piercing scream as she was engulfed in a golden light just like Tiki had been earlier.


Once the light faded, everyone looked up in the sky to see, above where Hibiki once stood, a massive cocoon-like structure that suspended itself in the air by web-like supports attached to the nearby buildings as the main body pulsed with a red glow that was accompanied by the sound of a heartbeat.

"Wh-What the hell happened to her?!" Kanade asks in a panicked tone.

"I... I don't know!" Serena answers, equally as panicked as she contacts HQ on her communicator. "Commander? What should we do?"

"I'm not sure if there's anything we can do at this moment." Genjuro states, doing his best to remain calm, but it was easy to tell he was just as shaken up by this as they were. "Return to HQ ASAP!"

"Understood..." Serena replies. "Kanade, we need to go."

"And leave Hibiki-chan like this?!" Kanade asks. "Surely there's something we can do to save her, right? Maybe I can use Gungnir and-"

"If it's anything like hers, you'll just kill her!" Serena interjects, turning away from Kanade as she heads off towards S.O.N.G. HQ. "We have orders to fall back, it's best that we follow them."

Kanade looked up at the cocoon once again, trying to think of another way to save Hibiki, but all she could think of was how the girl she viewed as a younger sister was now hostage to the divine power while she was unable to think of a way to save her.

"Ugh! DAMMIT!" Kanade screams in anger as she stabbed her spear into the ground as tears started to leak out of her eyes. Eventually, Kanade pulled out her spear and turned to follow Serena back to HQ. "Hang in there, Hibiki-chan. We'll find a way to get you out of there. I promise!"


Meanwhile, Kana just looked up at the cocoon in pure astonishment, still trying to process what had become of her friend. "Why... Why did this happen to you?" Kana asks aloud.

"It shouldn't be possible." Saint-Germain says, catching Kana's attention.

"What do you mean?" Kana asks.

"Only a pure soul should be able to become a vessel for the divine power. It cannot dwell within the body of a human born shouldering the original sin." Saint-Germain states. "Hibiki Tachibana... Just what are you?"

As Saint-Germain asked herself this, Kana received a call from HQ. "Kana-kun, return to HQ ASAP!" Genjuro orders. "With Hibiki-kun as she is now, there's nothing more we can do here."

"...Understood, Commander." Kana hesitantly replies, before realizing someone was missing from the battlefield. "Wait, where did Adam go?!"

Saint-Germain looks around the area for the Controlling Director, only to see that he has disappeared. "He must've retreated while we were distracted by what happened to Hibiki Tachibana." Saint-Germain states. "It may be in our best interest to do the same and regroup with the others so that we may devise a plan."

Kana looked at Saint-Germain with a raised brow when she said this. "'We'?" Kana asks.

"Yes. We." Saint-Germain answers. "We still share a common goal of getting rid of this divine power: You and your allies more than likely want to save Hibiki Tachibana while I wish to get rid of the divine power so that the Controlling Director may not use it for his own gain. So, much like the truce I made with Hibiki Tachibana, I wish to make one with S.O.N.G., so that I may correct my mistake that I made centuries ago."

Kana was confused by the latter part of Saint-Germain's statement, but she could tell the Alchemist truly wished to join forces with herself and the rest of S.O.N.G. "Normally, I would be very hesitant in accepting your proposal." Kana states. "But, thanks to what had just happened back there with that divine doll, I'm willing to trust you."

"That's all I ask." Saint-Germain says as she reverts her Faust Robe's transformation. "Here."

Saint-Germain tosses her spellcaster to Kana, who easily catches it. "W-Why are you giving me this?" Kana asks in a flustered tone.

"While I have your trust, I imagine the rest of S.O.N.G. would not fully trust me." Saint-Germain states. "By giving you my spellcaster and going to your headquarters unarmed, I hope that, at the very least, it will allow your Commander to have some trust in me as well."

"I mean... That makes sense to me and all... But that wasn't why I was asking..." Kana says, looking away from the Alchemist, who finally got the hint, sharing a similar shade of red on her face from embarrassment.

"Right... I see what you mean." Saint-Germain says. "I'll need to grab a change of clothes before regrouping with your allies, so that I may make a more... dignified proposal for a truce. If I may?"

"Yep, sure thing!" Kana shouts, handing Saint-Germain back the spellcaster so that she could transform back into her Faust Robe, before the two would disappear from the battlefield to make a quick stop for clothes before eventually regrouping with S.O.N.G.


A/N: And with that, we end the chapter!

There isn't much to add this time around, aside from the antics of Kanade and Serena plus Kana joining Hibiki and Saint-Germain against Adam (And of course the little joke at the end with Saint-Germain and Kana, since I felt that Saint-Germain would more than likely head back with the Wielders in a scenario where it was more than just Hibiki there with her so they could form a truce. Plus, at least from my perspective, I imagine the events from Saint-Germain vs Hibiki and Kirika, Adam's betrayal, and everything with the divine power would make the Alchemist what she was (or rather, wasn't) wearing before activating her Faust Robe).

That aside, I want to thank you all for waiting a little longer than usual for this chapter's release since I took a month-long break from writing. (Rest assured, I'm doing fine, just needed a little more than my normal week break between writing chapters to relax.)

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