The space was filled with lights of all kinds.

Lights from guns appeared in rapid flashes.

Lights from trion creations flew through the open air space.

Lights from blades cut through the air.

Even the lights from the Idras appeared. They were the ones that took up the most space with each one firing a laser-like beam from their cores.

At a point they had split-up with ground forces taking the roads to fight directly in front of the Idras. The rest had taken to the rooftops, using their distance to attack at a range they could not be touched easily.

Tamakoma's Muscle: "Try not to go too far ahead. Remember what Ninomiya said - we're on defense. Let's just take them down one by one."

Nino: "The enemy numbers are still triple the amount of our own. If we lose even a single person on this side, the difference in our fire power will increase exponentially. We need to distract their attention with our more flexible mobility, and concentrate our attacks at key points."

Mystery Smoker: "We can't let these trion soldiers show us up in teamwork!"

Sekai let out a sigh as he prepared another cube of trion.

He watched the lights in front of him move all around from the Idras to them and vice versa.

This was all to be expected with attacks like these, but it did not make him feel any better about having to join in such a battle.

Maybe I'm just feeling riled up since using Kōgetsu is not as optimal in this situation than using Shooter-types.

It could have also been because of the other battles going on.

He knew that Yuki would begin his fight soon, Chisato and some B-Ranks were already fighting from the sounds made, and word had reached him that three battles were happening within the base itself. Even a ways away from him, a battle was occurring with the non-sniper duo from Miwa Squad.

It's just something I need to get over, I guess. If those guys at Kurosaki were to find out about this, I would never hear the end of it.

If they found out about the attack then there would be more issues than something so simple. He knew this and chose to ignore it.

Instead, he focused on what was around him.

The lights around him could be blinding if he wasn't already prepared for it.

The trion soldiers were the same as always-

No, wait…

There had been a difference in them.

He had spotted it due to the many kinds of shady jobs he had taken before and from his time at Kurosaki. Something within the masses that did not fit with everything else, no matter how much it tried.

There was something not right.

There was one trion soldier moving through the mass of other ones while those other ones subtly moved out of its way.

His eyes followed the line that the trion soldier was taking and his eyes came to…

"Brat, defend Tatsuya!"

It was too late.

Daigo had reacted to his captain, but the trion soldier had already made a mad dash towards the unsuspecting Kuruma.

"!"

Sekai felt some relief come over him when he saw Sasamori appear above Kuruma, blade already clashing with one of the two blades coming from the Idra.

The second blade had stabbed into his stomach, missing any vital spots from what could be seen.

"Hisato!"

"I'm okay, Kuruma-san! It missed any vitals!"

Noticing something nearby, Sekai saw one of his teammates react in a certain way.

.

Mystery Smoker: "Watch out, Reiji! We've got a lively one over here!"

"We've got one over here too. It's movements are different from the other ones."

Kuroe could hear the two men talking as she moved in to intercept the fast moving Idra. The target had been Tamakoma's Karasuma so she responded to its speed with speed of her own.

She held her Kōgetsu in defense against one of the blades coming from the Idra's arm.

The Idra pushed against the blade to widen the space between the two of them a bit.

Taking the chance, it moved back and circled around them.

"The stationary team at the back that got circled by the enemy is panicking. How about I go deal with it?"

Kuroe could hear the voice of her captain as she moved back into position.

"No, don't do that. Our fire team at the front lines can't go without Kako-san."

"Aww, really?"

Kuroe, hearing the conversations, turned around and started for the back. If her captain couldn't go then she would do it in her place.

This was how she would fight here.

"I'll go deal with that fast one."

"Alright. I'll leave it to you," her captain said easily.

Kitora also turned around and followed behind Kuroe.

The thought of having Kitora of all people follow her into this battle did not sit right with her, but it was not fully up to her to decide if that was what would happen.

So she could only move forward before she heard the answer.

But she heard it all anyway.

"I'll go support Futaba-chan. My equipment is better suited to close combat compared to shooting."

"Okay. Sorry for the trouble."

.

Daigo could feel himself freeze up.

He did not know what to do.

Because of the way things had been going as of late, he could tell that he was starting to understand things better. From people, to emotions, to how one should feel during certain times.

He had failed in reaching Kuruma in time to stop the attack against him as ordered by his captain. Instead of him, it had been Sasmaori who reached the trion soldier first and took a hit in the process.

Now here he was, wanting to look over Sasamori, wanting to do as his captain said and protect Kuruma, wanting to continue the fight that was in front of him.

"Ah. Guess this is the drawback from helping Dai-chan so much recently."

Jinsei's voice could be heard behind him.

Another voice had also reached his ears. This time it was in front of him.

"Hisato! Hold off the fast guy! Do your best!"

"Leave it to me!"

Do your best?

Those words had rang out in his head upon hearing them.

Those words had been what helped him advance even more. Both physically and mentally. Those words, that were not directed at him, brought him back to the reality of the matter.

He was in a fight. A fight that had multiple fronts and multiple things going on at once.

Staying still for even a moment would be a loss.

So…

"Cap-"

"What the hell are you doing, brat? Go support Hisato already or I'll make you Bail Out myself."

He could not finish his sentence.

His captain had understood his wants and what his objective had been. He then combined the two of them into one and forced a wonderful order onto Daigo that he would never deny.

"Understood!"

Moving away from the road and onto the rooftop next to Sasamori, he felt the corners of his lips lift slightly.

In front of them was the Idra that had attacked Kuruma and who Sasamori had pushed away.

The two of them were in charge of handling this strange behaving trion soldier who relied on speed and its blades for offense and defense.

"Hisato, I'll be your support this time. I don't think I can ever use you as a step anymore, so I will be under your care for this fight."

"With you here, I have nothing to worry about."

A quick flash appeared in Daigo's mind. It was the image of Sasamori when they had done a special training session with Yuki and Sekai.

During that time, Hisato had been trying to make him realize his own worth while lowering himself to do so.

The time when the Aftokrator invasion had happened he had also been a bit of a mess after Suwa had been turned into a cube.

But now...

"We need to watch out and make sure it doesn't disturb the Snipers. Even if Arafune-senpai was targeted, he probably will be fine. But under these circumstances we need to let them concentrate on shooting."

There was no hesitation.

There was no panicking.

There were no putdowns.

The calm and collected Sasamori before him now was a different person altogether who had managed to find his own way to advance. The lower areas where Daigo had once been were now nothing but memories for the both of them as they had both managed to climb up from that and appear on this battlefield.

"Understood!"

.

On the other side of the fight…

"I'll take care of this in 30 seconds. Don't drag me down."

Kuroe's cold voice had no effect on Kitora as the two ran across the rooftops to meet their next opponent.

"Don't worry. I'll cover you nice and properly."

Kuroe didn't say anything as she raised her Kōgetsu.

The next step she took, her foot moved a bit to the side as she started a slash.

"Idāten."

Activating the high speed Trigger, she moved in a literal flash.

The streak left behind by Idāten had. Single section cut out of it from where her blade had met with the Idra's upper-arm.

She wasted no time in turning to face the opponent.

Now with its body held down by wires, it could not move to react to her attack.

The next attack came from both her and Kitora with her blade clashing once more with the blade and Kitora's gun firing constantly against the weak armor.

Even with its body ensnared by the wires, it managed to push Kuroe's blade with its own.

It was only while she was in the air did Kuroe realize this was her chance to attack.

With the Idra's arm still in position from pushing her back, Kitora had moved in close to break through the armor and get its attention.

That was what she needed.

In a streak of light, Kuroe found herself already on the rooftop after having been in the air a moment ago.

The Idra's head fell to the ground.

"It's over."

"Kitora and Kuroe have taken down the humanoid trion soldier's ace!"

"That's our A-Rank right there. Nice and smooth."

Kinuta looked at the screen with a more critical look after hearing Netsuki's comment.

"No. It's not over. I just saw the color shift. There's a new 'fast one' nearby."

The directors turned to Amō as he told them what he had been able to see with his Side Effect.

His words were confirmed a moment later as Sawamura spoke up from the radar she had been watching intently.

"We've confirmed the new enemy ace! It's marked on the radar! Kitora, Kuroe, we need you to handle it!"

The two girls vocalized their confirmation.

This would be another fight they could handle as they had with the earlier one.

Even if these new types had managed to show off something new, it had been proven that their A-Ranks could take them out.

"But I don't understand…"

Shinoda was the one to bring up the worry that some of them may have had.

"If they have an entire stock of ace fighters, why would they only deploy two at a time?"

"Maybe there's a limit to how many can be active at once?"

Shinoda looked over to Kinuta.

Kinuta continued to face forward with the same look he had held the entire time.

"Maybe they only have two enhancement Triggers for trion soldiers, or perhaps there are two Operators controlling the entire trion soldier army?"

"I see."

"Both trion soldiers have the same color," Amō started. "I think the two-Operator theory is wrong. That means there's one Operator controlling two at the same time."

.

Everyone in the command room thought over what they had figured out as Kuroe and Kitora began their next actions against the new Idra.

They watched as Kuroe began her charge with the activation of Idāten once more. The speed Trigger left her with a single path to follow, but it would be near impossible to defend against if she had gotten the timing right.

The new Idra and the one controlling it must have caught on at this point, that much they were certain of as the Idra brought up its arms. It was a rather weak defense, but it showed them that there was certainly someone controlling the trion soldier instead of it just being some programing.

Once Kuroe moved in to attack, they could determine how the controller would react to it now.

But the result had been against them.

A moment later, a flash appeared.

The flash covered multiple directions, fully circling around the Idra.

Kuore had appeared after having activated her Trigger, but…

"Kuroe's badly injured!"

Her own attack had been used against her.

Four blades had come from the Idra's shoulders as Kuroe made a full lap around it.

Because of the blades being in her way, each one had cut through her body.

"Kuroe's been hit!"

"Not good…! The enemy had a countermeasure against our Triggers! This is going just as Ninomiya predicted. Losing one of our own could be critical to the battle!"

"Shouldn't Director Shinoda or Director Akasora join the battle…so it doesn't turn out like this?"

"As far as I can tell, we may be outnumbered, but our tactics are much more solid."

Shinoda faced each fight that was on the large screen in front of him.

The amount of battles had increased quickly, but therefore still enough agents to fight.

"There's no need for me to go out there or call over Chishi. For now… Leave it to our field agents to complete their mission."

As soon as the spheres of trion rained down on the trion soldiers, Yuki leaped above R1 and Oshiro leaped above L1. Their actions seemed to be stopped by the spheres of trion placed below, but…

…We can do this!

They jumped down into the hot air created before the fight had even begun. Yuki had set up the area's physical attributes, Oshiro had set wires around, and Sthénos had left detonation points around the area just in case.

Normal places had very few trion sources, so what happened to manmade sources or the people surrounded by it?

"…!?"

The confused trion soldiers turned toward each other.

Of course they would do that, thought Oshiro.

If they had been searching for a foreign trion sources, they would first notice their fellow trion soldiers after being covered in Dummy Beacons. And when searching for an enemy trion source, they would naturally be confused when so many appeared at once.

And the trion of the scattered wires and detonation points would form a sort of mist for them and make their vision uncertain.

Yuki and Oshiro had prevented the enemy from using their eyes.

…Now we only need to seal off their auditory senses!

When Oshiro landed, he slammed his Raygust and Kōgetsu together.

The trion soldiers looked over in surprise, so they had likely switched from trion sensing to auditory sensing.

…Just as Yuki-nii predicted!

That made him happy, but a voice behind him seemed to push him onward.

"Asteroid!"

It was Sthénos' voice from far up the slope.

That signaled the completion of her attack.

"…!"

Everything in the forest shook and cried out.

More accurately, Sthénos' fast moving shot had created a straight line wind that shot through the forest of buildings and their glass. Instead of moving the air, the attack simply accelerated and released it.

…But if the windows shake enough…

The wind struck all the buildings in an area one hundred meters long and thirty meters wide.

The forest of buildings shook. Nearby trees tilted, concrete collided, and glass sounded like a heavy hand was striking them.

The blowing roar grew and pressed in on the ears of the trion soldiers using auditory sensing.

"Kh!?"

The trion sources had been disturbed and now the sound was too confusing.

But the trion soldiers knew an enemy was here, so they had to do something.

However, they could not escape and put some distance between them due to the wall they themselves had created.

And then Oshiro shouted out.

"Shikifuku!"

The shadow that had raced down the slope on the outside sounded like it kicked off the concrete.

The shadow that flew into Oshiro's raised hand was the one-third of a Black Trigger given to him for just this occasion.

Oshiro felt bad using it when he knew that it held major importance to the Yagura Branch director. He refused to take all three parts of it and instead only took the sword - the Willpower.

Even with those thoughts, Oshiro crouched down but used his full strength to swing the Black Trigger.

He charged at the enemy.

"When your next attack hits, it will defeat me?"

Mochizuki parroted Shiraishi Chisato's words while working her artificial intelligence.

…I see. So she claims to have seen through me.

Her body was what Miden would call a "machine". And as a machine, there were limits to the movements of the joints. Even with a non-jointed gravitational control trion soldier, there was a limit to the range of the gravitational control.

To keep one's actions within that range, an accurate pattern was necessary.

That meant using efficient movements.

It was true that it was safer to assume the enemy would use efficient movements instead of random ones. The enemy's best attack method was also the easiest to plan a defense for.

However, she was a stealth soldier.

She was also an autonomous one, but that was why she devoted herself to being a stealth soldier. It had been what Mochichiyo had been.

She had expected that an opponent of Shiraishi Chisato's level would be able to read any pattern in her movements.

Thus, she had managed her actions and accumulated experience on this battlefield to ensure her movements did not fall into the same pattern. And yet…

"Am I following a pattern?"

Shiraishi Chisato held a single trion lance forward with her hips slightly lowered, but she did not nod. She simply pulled her right leg back.

Then the former Shiraishi representative spoke.

"When my next attack hits, it will defeat you."

It was the same statement as before.

Immediately, Shiraishi Chisato charged toward her.

.

She's slow, determined Mochizuki.

An autonomous trion soldier's thoughts were far faster than a living person's. If a living person's thought speed was a 1, then an autonomous trion soldier's was several thousand with a maximum of nearly a million. This had just been how Pagoménos designed their trion soldiers now.

Mochizuki's accelerated vision saw Chisato running. She had leaned her body forward.

…That is quite a deep lean.

She almost seemed intent on bringing her chin to the floor. She kept her hips arched high and she was only able to run like that thanks to the strength of her false trion legs.

Her hair fluttered behind her and she raised her lance high.

"…!"

The raised lance was going to strike Mochizuki's left leg as she sent it forward.

The attack would sever one leg, but Mochizuki was puzzled.

…Why?

This was Chisato's first time severing a leg like this, that was clear from her actions. So…

"You would not have seen a supposed pattern for this."

As she wondered why, she pulled her left leg back.

She dodged it.

She fell back while also throwing her explosive.

At the same time, Chisato accelerated and stood back up. The thrown explosive coal passed by her head.

Then it exploded. The blast pursued Chisato and blew her hair around, but she swept it back behind her by pursuing Mochizuki.

Chisato's lance was in her right hand. She once more targeted Mochizuki's left leg. Specifically, the left knee. Mochizuki had yet to fully pull it back, so Chisato targeted the raised left knee.

And so Mochizuki quickly pulled her left leg back.

Her high processing speed allowed her to see her opponent's movements. Her thought speed told her when she had to move to remain safe.

So she did so.

As she pulled her left foot back to join her right heel, she also pulled her right foot forward.

And she threw an explosive. Chisato ducked to avoid it.

She pursued. And…

"…Like this."

Her arm rotated in an impossible way. No, it was a false trion one. The right arm was targeting Mochizuki's torso even as Chisato kept her body low.

But Mochizuki could see it all. She calculated when to dodge, so…

…It is no use.

With that thought, Mochizuki fell back and dodged.

Then Chisato attacked again. It was faster than before, but it came immediately after the other. So…

"…"

Mochizuki dodged.

.

The girl with a specialized Trigger pursued.

The trion soldier girl was pursued.

A trion lance attack was dodged.

Several explosives were avoided.

Many such moments were repeated, overlapped, and did not fit together.

No matter how much the pursuer bit at her, the pursued pulled back just barely enough.

No matter how much the pursued attacked, the pursuer just barely avoided it.

But someone spoke among those watching it unfold.

"She can't seem to hit…"

Voices of "yeah" and "of course" followed. But then Ikoma spoke as he worked to maintain his position next to Mizukami who was quickly managing the information being sent to them.

"Chisato. If you find your dance partner's movements are hard to follow, you can just honestly ask to take their hand. And yet…"

He repeated "and yet" with a sigh.

"Why do you always memorize your partner's movements?"

.

…Memorize…?

Mochizuki asked that question as she dodged and fell back for nearly the hundredth time.

What was there to memorize here? But…

"Don't be silly. …I'm not about to reveal to the enemy what I can do."

With that, Chisato moved forward.

She swung her lance toward Mochizuki, but the trion soldier saw through the attack. So…

…Dodge.

She read the timing and evaded.

As a result, Chisato's attack did not hit.

I am the one memorizing your movements, she thought.

But at that very moment, Chisato spoke.

"I have memorized your optimal evasion pattern."

"—"

Mochizuki briefly lost her trion soldier decision-making.

Memorizing and reading your opponent's patterns was usually what the defender did. They read the attacker's movements to keep themselves safe. That was how it worked. But…

…She read my evasion pattern…?

Mochizuki did not understand.

Reading the evasion pattern would not allow her attacks to hit. It was known as an evasion pattern because it kept those attacks from hitting. That would mean this opponent had spent all this time memorizing the pattern that would continue to keep her attacks from hitting.

Such a waste of time.

And yet…

"Now," said Mochizuki's opponent. "It's time to hit you like I said I would."

With that, she moved forward.

"Should I apologize to Kuroe-san once this is all done? Is my being within her eyesight causing her to misstep?"

Daigo vocally wondered this as he turned in the air.

He had been sent there when he had accidentally used the Indra before him as a step.

"Daigo! Decide on that later!"

Oh, right. My bad.

This was no time to focus on unnecessary things.

Hisato was moving along the rooftop while Daigo had taken to the sky.

The theory of someone controlling these trion soldiers had made the two of them more cautious as to how they should fight. Hisato's charges and Daigo's jumping would normally have been viewed as a good combination, but that could not happen here. The battlefield had turned far too chaotic for those kinds of things.

Staying in the air too long could result in getting shot down.

Charging in would have the same result as Kuroe.

So then what were they supposed to do?

Do our best.

It was the first thing that came to mind and the best option he could find.

His feet touched the rooftop a moment later. His feet did not stay in place, instead pushing off the tiles and tossing them into the air.

Grabbing one of the tossed tiles, he threw it with the strength given to him by the Trigger he was using.

The tile shattered on impact with the Idra.

Before he could become the moving target, another tile shattered on the back of the head of the Idra.

Hisato had noticed what he was doing.

Oh, but he is supposed to be the leader here. I am the support and he is the leader. In that case…

"Hisato!"

"I know! I can definitely cross all eight boats now!"

That had put a smile on his face.

It was his own way of saying that he knew he was different and would act like it.

With that new resolve in mind, Daigo began his supportive role.

He did not go for his blade and he did not think of his other Triggers.

Instead, he went for the tiles.

.

Sasamori could only sigh in his heart at the sight of Daigo forgoing his blade in favor of tiles that would do no damage at all.

The two of them moved across the rooftop, tossing up tiles as they ran. Daigo would pick ones with his left hand to hold and then throw every other one using his right hand.

It was clear what he was doing.

This would be those eight boats. The eight leaps he could not do before during training.

After the initial time, Daigo had continued to practice those eight leaps until he had not needed help from Sasamori. Each time he had been shown those leaps, the number had increased until they reached the full eight leaps.

Those leaps had been known as Hassou Tobi by both Yuki and Sekai. The sound of it was rather ridiculous and the method seemed simple enough.

It was anything but those.

Sasamori had seen firsthand what the ridiculous-sounding, simple movement could do for someone.

The method had been based on history, exaggerated over time, and could be performed by using a Trigger's natural increase in physical abilities.

Yet only a handful of people had managed to do it.

That's why I'm certain I can do this now.

Daigo had now managed it and he had been given tips on how to perform the movement before from both Yuki and Sekai.

This would be where all of that would come together to finish this fight.

He had been left in charge of taking out this trion soldier controlled by someone else.

So I will do my best!

.

Sasamori and Daigo moved in tandem with each other.

Both had found their left hands full with rooftop ties as shards covered the area where the trion soldier was standing.

It could have been that the controller was more focused on Kuroe and Kitora, but that would only make the fight easier to handle.

With the resolve to finish the fight, both of them tossed the remaining tiles into the air.

The trion soldier looked up at the tiles as if expecting something from them. Its arms were brought up and blades came out from its arms like they had before.

The first one to make a move was Sasamori.

He pushed off the ground and leaped into the air. This would be where the first major leap would come from.

Daigo moved next by pulling out his Kōgetsu and moving forward.

Electricity began to come off of his body as he readied his stance.

He would use Idāten.

Hisato made the third action by using one of the airborne tiles as a step.

Staying on the tile for too long and putting too much weight on it would only bring it down. The small space it gave for him had not even covered his entire foot, only letting him place his toes atop it.

And yet he had made it.

The first leap had been done in a fraction of a moment by lifting his body up when touching the tile and leaping before the weight could fully push down the tile.

He repeated the same action a second, third, fourth, with time.

It was the sixth leap that Daigo began his action.

Kuroe had failed in taking out the second trion soldier using this Trigger since the opponent had found a counter to Idāten by placing an object in front of that path.

While he felt bad for her, he did not view his actions to be the same as hers.

He would move differently from her.

So with that knowledge keeping him safe, he activated his Trigger.

"Escudo…"

A line ran along the top of the roof and reached a point in front of the trion soldier.

"Idāten."

The electric coming for his body faded as he disappeared from where he stood in a literal flash.

The fast ra along a straight path from where he had stood to the top of the Escudo wall, over it and on the other side.

The trion soldier that should have been on the other side could be seen moving to the other side of the shield.

Daigo moved in as the trion soldier swung its body around with the blades coming from its arms.

Daigo ducked under the attack and swung his own blade for the side.

Blades sprang out from the shoulders of the trion soldier as he did so.

Seeing the way the blades were coming, he knew that he could not fully dodge the attack and so resolved himself to take a hit.

The shoulder blades from the left of the lion soldier cut through his cheek while the blade from its arm stabbed through his side.

But…

"Perfect."

The feedback of Kōgetsu hitting the Escudo wall came to him a moment later.

The trion soldier was pinned to the wall and the blades it had to use for attacking were now stuck within Daigo's body.

Above the two of them, Sasamori touched the seventh tile in the air.

His weight had been constantly forced upwards with each leap he had made and only his toes had any sort of feeling that they had landed on anything.

Now high above the two not he roof, he could see where he needed to strike and fixed his position.

With his entire body facing the rooftop, he brought Kōgetsu forward and in front of him.

The eighth and file tile had been above him instead of below him, allowing him for the movement he needed to finish this fight.

Touching the final tile with all of the upwards weight, he pushed against it while forcing all of the awards weight down.

He shot down fast, plunging his sword into the trion soldier's head and letting the blade go through the entirety of its body.

The feeling of it passing by Daigo's Kōgetsu could be felt, but it did not stop and instead made a hole from the top of the body right down to the crotch.

This had been their victory.

.

"That was Hisato's Hassou Tobi…"

Righting himself after their victory, Daigo only blinked at Sasamori.

Feeling a rush of adrenaline, Sasamori returned the blink with a smile.

"We aren't done, so let's keep doing our best!"

Daigo returned the smile seconds later.

The sound of gunfire and blades moving through the air was all around them.

Even the sound of a new trion soldier moving towards them could be heard.

But that was fine.

After all…

"Yes. Let us always do our best."

.

Kuroe held her left arm as she lay on the roof.

The damage she had sustained from the counter against Idāten showed clearly. Both her arm and leg had been rendered almost entirely useless due to the deep cuts in them.

Using Idāten to move around was the best option for movement at the moment. The issue came in that she could not attack like that again or even more damage would come to her.

She began to stand, readying herself to finish this fight.

She was topped by Kitora, who held a hand out in front of her.

"Don't be so hasty, Futaba-chan. Calm down first."

"...! I'll be fine," Kuroe spat back. "I won't make the same mistake next time."

"You didn't make any mistake. It's just that the opponent found a countermeasure."

Kitora spoke with calmness and a focused sight befitting an A-Rank. She didn't seem hurt by the way she was being spoken to and continued to hold her guard up.

It was different from the times Kuroe had spoken so rudely to her before.

This was a battle and they needed to remain calm.

She was seeing that now more than ever.

"Our opponent is very strong. When we manage to defeat one, another one appears. If we make our move carelessly we will only be defeated. Kako-san is in charge of the shooting battle that is crucial in turning the tide of battle. Our mission is to suppress these opponents. This is also the strategy Sasamori is using. Well…maybe not with Girikage-senpai around."

The words of her captain ran through her mind at the reminder.

Her captain had entrusted her on this small battlefield. It was on her to keep these different trion soldiers away from the main fight so that they could keep pushing forward.

And Kitora had been the one to remind her of that.

"We need to finish our own mission as well. Futaba-chan's strength is essential."

Kuroe stood up.

She didn't give any sort of cold remarks, or ignore her upperclassman like she normally would.

It was not the time to be swept up in arrogance or personal feelings. All of those things could come later on.

And even if it was Kitora who was her partner for this fight, she would have to work with it.

"…"

Kuroe got ready for the fight.

She would accomplish the mission given to her by her very own captain.

The mission she herself said she would take on.

"Understood."

This was her resolve.