Sympho-Saber: Song of Swords

GX:EP06 – Dragonic Ignite


1 Month after the Zwei Wing Tragedy

Master Logos stood in a small room that held various alchemical equations as well as various ancient writings including Ridermoji just written all over the walls. In front of him was a circle that had various markings on it alongside the Eternal Phoenix Wonder Ride Book in the center of it. The Mumeiken Kyomu was stabbed into the ground behind it.

On a table nearby were two books, the one red book with the center jewel he'd keep with him and a white book that looked to be wrapped in bandages.

"Normally creating something like this requires extensive amounts of materials and knowledge…" Master Logos said as he soon picked up the white bandaged book and opened it up, "But thanks to this book created from the pages of the Great Book alongside my personal fragment, I can bypass certain requirements…"

The circle began to light up and shine a bright white alongside the pages of the book he was holding. He then began scanning through the book, reading rapidly and silently as he began flipping through the pages one after another.

"May the chains of the dead bind you no longer… burn through them and bask in your freedom and rebirth…" Master Logos chanted as he held a hand out, it shining a bright white, "Burn through them and claim the power your warrior spirit hungers for…"

The gem on his personal Great Book fragment began to shine and resonate with the book fragment he held. Soon enough the Mumeiken Kyomu and Eternal Phoenix began to be bathed in the same white light, soon pulsating and resonating in tandem.

"Now awaken, warrior who no longer need fear death to continue fighting forevermore!" Master Logos shouted as he pushed his hand forward, a pulsation occurring as all the glows from all the shining objects began converging around the Seiken and Wonder Ride Book. It wasn't long before flames began erupting from the two objects, the circle around them becoming scorched and broken as the flames dispersed.

[BATTOU! ETERNAL PHOENIX!]

Kamen Rider Falchion was formed from the flames, taking a step forward before groaning and falling to its knees. Its transformation broke apart before revealing a bare Kanade who began panting heavily as she tried to gain her bearings.

"W-Where… W-Who…" She gasped out.

Master Logos immediately grabbed a robe that he had prepared, covering her with it as he swapped out the white bandaged book with his personal Great Book fragment. He then knelt down to Kanade and gently held her forehead. The fragment's gem began to shine bright as Master Logos' hand glowed in response.

Kanade's exasperated expression suddenly grew duller as she suddenly calmed down, her eyes full of new life growing dull and blank.

"There is no need to worry Kanade Amou," Master Logos smiled, "You were once fated to perish like so many others… but I will not allow that. For you will become a part of something much greater."


Present Day…

Inside SONG's workshop was the Mumeiken Kyomu, it having been taken out of the repair station by Daishinji sometime after Miku's visit. Both it and the Eternal Phoenix Wonder Ride Book began to shake and glow before the glows turned into soft pulsations.


Carol was still in her throne room with three of the four Autoscorer's at their posts since Micha was still out. While viewing the current fights she was still thinking on her conversation with Tassel. Despite their disagreements she couldn't help but hold some nostalgic feelings from their conversation. When it came to her past, he was the only one of the Sword of Logos that she truly considered genuine and nice. Though that was likely due to her and her father visiting Tassel quite often back in the day. In turn her nostalgia ended up reminding her of a conversation she had with her father however, and his words.

"I want to know everything about the world, you see. That's the first step toward people truly understanding each other. We're almost there. Let's go."

"Yes, Father. I will go," Carol said as she sat up from her throne, "And through the transmutation of memories into power, I will complete the Apocalypse of All Creation."


"So what do we do now?" Chris asked, "Our odds kind of suck even with the three of us out here."

"Indeed, I doubt mere retaliation would be enough," Tsubasa agreed.

"It's a good thing I've brought our secret weapons then," Slash said as he held the new Wonder Ride Book tightly in his hand, though on his holsters were also two in similar styles, both having the white covers and backings though one had a blue spine and pages while the other had a red spine and pages.

"Then it's time for our counteroffensive," Tsubasa said.

Shirabe managed to get into a sitting position to watch the others as they got ready to fight. That was until two large jackets were suddenly thrown at her. She gave a yelp as she caught them as Slash had been the one holding onto them by draping them over one shoulder armor.

"Get covered up and inside," Slash said as he had his back facing Shirabe, not even bothering to look back, "We'll handle it from here."

Shirabe suddenly blushed in embarrassment when she realized the situation she was currently in and held the jackets tightly to her body to cover up.


"Avert your eyes, men!" Maria shouted.

Sakuya quickly closed his eyes and looked away while Miku suddenly covered Hibiki's eyes.

Hibiki could only yelp, "W-Why me too?!"

"Sorry," Miku apologized and quickly removed her hands, "I got caught up in the moment."

"I can't coordinate the battle if I can't look at the screen!" Sakuya argued as he kept facing away.

Aoi gave a light glare towards her partner, "Why are you objecting so desperately?!"

"This is only until we can extract Kirika and Shirabe," Maria said, "And in any case, Tsubasa, Chris and Daishinji should be the push we need to win this."


Micha chuckled as she tossed her hand forward, dropping more capsules to summon more Alca-Noise. It didn't take long for the remaining Shimi Megid to also lumber their way into the area as well.

"Daishinji," Tsubasa said as she readied her blade, "Go help our allies, the two of us will warm up with these weaklings."

"Yeah, we'll take out the trash," Chris gripped her crossbows tightly, "So go!"

"On it," Slash said before turning in the direction of the Riders and Megid before shouting and breaking off from the two Symphogear Wielders as they shouted as well and charged towards the Alca-Noise and Megid horde.

Slash ran towards Calibur and the Megid, the four of them turning to see the new combatant.

"And just what can another Rider do?" Legeiel scoffed.

"Just one more of you won't to be enough!" Zooous called out.

Storious meanwhile let out a low hum, already having noticed something interesting about Slash's entrance alongside Chris and Tsubasa.

Slash stopped a decent ways away from the Megid and Riders before bringing out the white and red book, revealing a cover that held a silhouetted warrior holding a red bow forward with explosions behind them. He wasted no time in opening it up to initiate the callout.

[MAKYŪ ICHAIVAL!]

[The red bow pierces through all with outrageous firepower…!]

"Let's go," Slash said as he slid the book into Suzune's book slot while switching it to its Gunplay mode, "Fire!"

[MAKYŪ ICHAIVAL! JUUKEN GEKIDAN!]

Red hexagons launched out of the barrel of Suzune and flew around his left arm before attaching themselves and wrapping it in red energy. Soon the energy began to take shape as his arm was a maroon coloration, the bodysuit portion of his arm resembling that of Chris' Ichaival Symphogear, having the standard forearm armoring that would normally be present on Chris' armor as well.

"What?" Calibur took a step forward at this.

Saber gave a yelp, "Whoa, what?!"

"So this is part of project Ride Gear," Buster mused.

"Alright you punks, let's dance!" Slash yelled out as the forearm armor began to shift and change like it normally would with Chris, forming the crossbow of Ichaival, "Suck on this!"

Calibur quickly held up Kurayami, blocking against the rapid fire blasts from Suzune. Of course this was just a distraction as Slash had aimed Ichaival's crossbow upwards before pulling the trigger.

Soon enough a volley of energy arrows was launched high into the air before they curved and rained down. Calibur and the Megid Trio had little time to truly react as the arrows also began homing in on all four of them, all of them yelling out as the explosive bolts of energy struck against or near them.

"Jeez, I'm making sure everything's ready and here you all are getting your asses kicked," Slash remarked as he hurried over to the Riders.

"Uh, did Daishinji's personality change… like even more this time?" Saber asked as he looked around.

"I-It would seem so," Blades gave a chuckle.

"I take it both projects were successful," Buster said.

"Of course, here's our trump cards," Slash called out in a casual tone before bringing out two more Wonder Ride Books, the first was Gekisō Gungnir while the second was the white and blue Ride Book. It held the silhouette of a warrior brandishing a katana, blue flames behind them with two snake-like eyes peering above them. The title was of course, Zettō Ame no Habakiri.

Buster surveyed the situation, soon seeing that Shirabe and Kirika had covered up using the coats Slash had brought and were leaving the area. Of course there were some stray Shimi that had slipped through Chris and Tsubasa's current assault, attempting to chase after the two defenseless Gear Wielders. Not to mention, the shock and damage from Slash's intervention had began to fade as the Megid General's and Calibur started to close in.

"Then it's time for our side of the counterattack," Buster said as he took both before tossing Zettō Ame no Habakiri over to Blades, "Touma, go for your Wonder Combo. Kenzan, deal with the stragglers trying to go after our unarmed comrades and make sure they get back to base safely."

"Understood," Kenzan said as he performed a hand sign before a puff of smoke occurred, vanishing from where he was to go deal with the Shimi chasing after Kirika and Shirabe.

"Of course," Saber said as he holstered Ikazuchi on his Hissatsu Holder while drawing out Storm Eagle and Saiyuu Journey.

"Now then Rintaro," Buster said as held Gekisō Gungnir up, "Let's test these new armaments out."

"Of course," Blades said as he readied Zettō Ame no Habakiri, "To honor Kento's memory… we won't fall here!"

[GEKISŌ GUNGNIR]

[The striking spear that punches through all that oppose it…!]

[ZETTŌ AME NO HABAKIRI]

[The absolute blade wielded by the truest of warriors…!]

Buster and Blades loaded in their Wonder Ride Books alongside Saber who slotted in his Wonder Combo Books.

"Let's go!" Saber yelled out.

[ITTOU RYODAN! BUTTA GIRE! DOGO! DOGO! DOGOUKEN GEKIDO!]

[NAGARE BATTOU! WONDER RIDER! LION! HABAKIRI!]

[REKKA BATTOU! KATARITSUGA RESHI SHINJUU NO SONO NA WA! CRIMSON DRAGON!]

Saber's usual transformation for Crimson Saber kicked in while Buster and Blades went for their own form changes. Orange hexagons formed in front of Buster like they normally would with his standard transformation, instead of slicing through them he punched them, the hexagons breaking apart and circling around his arm. Blades meanwhile slashed forward, blue hexagons erupting from his slash and swirling around him like flowing water before latching onto his left arm, side of his stomach, chest, and helmet.

Buster's left arm's suit portion now resembled Hibiki's Gungnir, his usual forearm guard being replaced by a perfect replica of Hibiki's Gungnir gauntlet.

Blades' was more elaborate due to the nature of the Swordriver, his forearm's suit portion gained the same coloration and style as Tsubasa's Ame no Habakiri while also gaining her shoulder pad over his own shoulder. An interesting quirk was his forearm guard resembling that of Tsubasa's thigh armoring. The left side of his stomach and chest were styled after Ame no Habakiri's coloration while also having a long coattail on the left side, it being primarily white with black lines cutting through and segmenting it alongside having blue rimming on the sides and the bottom. Lastly was Blades' left half of his helmet, it gaining armoring that was similar to Tsubasa's headgear when she used her Symphogear.

"What interesting Ride Books," Storious chuckled as he began to step back since he knew he'd get a proper example without having to fight himself.

"Just what kind of joke is this?!" Zooous called out as he rushed forward.

"Don't take us lightly!" Legeiel called out as he rushed for the four Riders as well.

"Zooous, you won't be winning this!" Blades called out as his forearm armor shifted, a small object shooting out before dropping into his hand. He grasped it before it extended out into a replica of Ame no Habakiri, soon swinging it forward.

Zooous brandished his swords as he got closer before seeing a glint in the sky. He quickly stopped before giving a gasp as a rain of blue energy daggers began striking around and against him. He went to brace against the rain of energy attacks only to hear something in front of him. He lowered his arms and head only to see a blue energy slash hurtling towards him, striking him and causing an explosion.

Blades rushed forward, brandishing his Seiken and replica Armed Gear, slashing rapidly with both as he forced Zooous on the defensive. The Megid Leader was only able to just barely bring his swords out to deflect and defend, but was slowly being pushed backwards.

"Zooous!" Legeiel called out as he stopped before gathering fire in his sword, "Like I'll be that easy to deal with!"

"No matter what you do it'll be the same!" Buster yelled as he leapt into the air, the piston of his Gungnir gauntlet activating and pulling itself back. He then landed on one knee, slamming his fist into the ground. Orange cracks traveled at high speeds before energy erupted out from underneath Legeiel, catching him in an explosion.

Calibur stared at what was going on before giving a chuckle. Despite this seeming setback he began to charge forward, quickly raising his cape to brace against the bullets and arrows that Slash sent out. He quickly unleashed a wave of darkness from his cape to disperse the rest.

Saber shouted as he rushed forward, Rekka lighting on fire as he went to clash against Calibur. He yelled out though despite his Wonder Combo's great strength, Calibur's Jaou Dragon was still allowing the Dark Rider to hold back his slash.


Everyone at SONG's submarine headquarters was surprised at what they were witnessing. Not only were the new Symphogear Ride Books giving the Riders the edge they needed, but both Chris and Tsubasa were easily tearing through the Alca-Noise and Shimi Megid hordes.

Sakuya meanwhile was checking the vitals and specifications for the two Symphogear Wielders, "Ame no Habakiri, Ichaival, all statuses green!"

"Those are the enhanced Symphogear?" Aoi asked.

"Project Ignite is about more than just repairing damaged Symphogear," Elfnein said as she walked into the bridge, "We tuned up their power output and adjusted the barrier power to resist the Alca-Noise's disintegrative power."

Proving her words true, on screen it could be seen that several Alca-Noise had grabbed Tsubasa's blade. While red electricity flickered, nothing else happened and Tsubasa was able to easily slip through the Alca-Noise's grip before slicing them apart. The advantage the Alca-Noise had held over the Symphogear System was now gone.

"Because we had the scraps and data available to us, Daishinji was able to expertly craft the Gear Ride Books," Elfnein also explained as everyone watched the footage of the Riders using their Symphogear themed armaments to combat Calibur and the Megid Generals, "Of course that was only one aspect of Project Ride Gear."

"One aspect…?" Maria glanced back with a mutter.


Kirika and Shirabe were currently running off with Kirika pulling Shirabe along, the two making steady progress in getting back to SONG's submarine.

"We gotta leave the rest to them, dess!" Kirika said.

Shirabe however looked back, 'Would we just get in the way?'

A few Shimi were trailing behind, attempting to follow them only for several crescent waves of wind to cut through them as Kenzan landed nearby. He then turned to see several more Shimi that had managed to slip away only for the Shimi to get cut through before they even got close.

The culprit was Desast who rested his blade on his shoulder, "Yo…"

"Desast…?" Kenzan asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Trying to keep out of the spotlight for now," Desast replied.

"Huh?" Kenzan tilted his head, "I'm not sure that makes any sense."

"Let's just say I'm not a fan of how this conflict's going," Desast said as he held his sword up and began to stare at the blade for a long while, "So I felt like helping out even though I'm risking a lot, I'm not getting put back on a leash so this is the most you'll get from me for today."

"I see," Kenzan replied as he stared at the hybrid Megid.

"Anyway, I'll be watching for some fun stuff so hopefully you all don't disappoint," Desast said before leaping into a few trees to stick to the shadows.

"Desast…" Kenzan muttered, recalling how Touma had said the chimera Megid had helped them back when Chris was taken out, "Just what do you want?"

The fight meanwhile was progressing smoothly, with Chris bringing out her dual gatling guns to tear through the Alca-Noise with ease. Tsubasa meanwhile went into a spinning handstand, her ankle blades extending out and slicing through the Alca-Noise.

The Wielder of Ame no Habakiri soon leapt into the air, enlarging her sword into its cleaver state before drawing out a smaller sword from it. She unleashed two lightning filled slashes towards Micha.

{Blue Sword Lightning Punishment}

Micha quickly dodged the attack, the slashes crashing into and destroying the rooftop she was standing on. Chris yelled out, forming two massive missiles on her shoulders before launching them both at the Autoscorer without missing a beat.

{MEGA DETH FUGA}

Micha landed just as the two missiles hit where she was, a massive explosion occurring as a result.

"Piece of cake," Chris gave a grin.

"Hold on," Tsubasa was at the ready when she saw a yellow hexagonal shield peer through the smoke that began to disperse.

"What?" Chris asked as she hurried over to her friend.

The smoke fully cleared revealing that it was Carol who had blocked the attack.

"Sorry~," Micha apologized.

"Its fine," Carol reassured, "I could tell from the force of that attack that this is more than you can handle. It's my turn."

"So the final boss shows her face already?" Chris remarked.

"How convenient," Tsubasa admitted, "We'd like to put an end to this as well."

"Advancing our plan is top priority," Carol spoke in a low voice to Micha, "Leave this to me and retreat."

"Okies!" Micha leapt into the air and broke open a teleport capsule, warping away while mid-air.

"Oho…?" Storious saw this before chuckling, "Calibur… do you mind if we take our leave?"

Calibur braced against several energy arrows before deflecting a slash from Saber, soon kicking the Rider away. He then turned to see that Carol had joined the battle, "So it's finally time… very well Storious, you've pulled your weight."

"Thank you kindly," Storious smiled as he waltzed over towards Zooous and Legeiel who had both been beaten back by Blades and Buster, "We're leaving."

Zooous turned with a growl, "Already?!"

"Damn it, we get made fun of and then have to retreat?" Legeiel hissed out.

"Do not worry, you'll have your chance to play again," Storious said as he brought out a teleport capsule, shattering it on the ground and warping the three of them away.

"What?" Blades asked.

"Wait…" Buster muttered before noticing that Carol was in the area, "What?"

"Just what the hell are you playing at?" Slash questioned.

"Huh?" Saber turned before seeing Carol, "Just what's going on?"

"You all are just going to run away?!" Chris questioned as she looked around, noticing that the Megid had employed the same strategy.

"If they stayed here they'd only get in the way," Calibur answered, "It will only take the two of us to finish what we've started today."

"Rest assured, I am more than capable of handling all of you on my own," Carol spoke up before glancing at Calibur, "Though I assume he wants to have his fun as well."

"It would be wise to not underestimate them," Calibur replied, "Consider me the backup."

"Of course, that is your role after all," Carol nodded.

"Given your stature, I find your boasts hard to believe," Tsubasa admitted.

"I see," Carol smiled at these words, like she was expecting this reaction, "Well, I would hate for you to make excuses later about how you couldn't bring yourselves to go all-out against a child. So I expect both Swordsmen and Wielders to show me your full strength!"

Everyone watched as a purple gateway formed, Carol summoning a purple and gold lined harp. She readied it before strumming it, several wires wrapping around her body as light began to shine from it.

"That tune…" Slash turned in surprise, the appearance of the harp and the sound it made snapping him briefly out of his altered personality.


Everyone on SONG's bridge was curious as to what had gotten Daishinji of all people riled up until they were alerted to an alarming new signal.

"It's an Aufwachen waveform?!" Aoi called out before correcting herself as she noticed something was off, running the signal through more scans, "No, it isn't… but it's a very similar energy pattern!"

"Don't tell me… she's activating a Relic?" Maria asked.

"Is that the Faust Robe of Dur da Blá?" Elfnein asked in realization.


There was a bright flash of purple before it faded to show Carol's transformation. She was now garbed in a purple and black outfit with blue gem-like accents alongside a matching witch-like hat. The hat held four diamond shaped crystals of red, blue, yellow and green on it. The most obvious part of the transformation however was the fact that she wasn't a child anymore but a full grown woman.

"This should be sufficient, I take it?" Carol asked in deeper and more mature tone, gesturing towards herself.

"She… she can just do that?" Saber asked.

"So there was more to her like I thought…" Blades muttered.

Carol swung her arms around her, wires lashing out from her fingertips and tearing apart the ground as she aimed for both the Symphogear Wielders and Riders of SONG. Calibur stood where he was, the attacks and damage not reaching him as the six other combatants just barely dodged out of the way of her assault.

"Getting bigger won't save you!" Tsubasa called out as she charged forward.

"I like it when my dinner puts up a fight!" Chris yelled as she aimed her gatling guns and fired at Carol.

"Let's get going Rintaro!" Slash called out as he began to move towards Carol while firing off arrows, Blades giving a nod as he followed after the Swordsman of Sound.

"Hold on a minute!" Buster called out before seeing something out of the corner of his eye. He quickly raised his left arm, blocking against Calibur's slash before forcing it away and punching, the dark Rider quickly bracing against the punch with Kurayami.

"Play times over!" Calibur called out as he shifted his blade and unleashed a slash of darkness point blank, sparks managed to fly as Buster staggered back.

"You won't be getting your way!" Saber called out as he slashed forward only for Calibur to block it with Kurayami. He gave a gasp as the Swordsman of Darkness unleashed a dark burst, sparks flying as he was sent staggering back.

Carol meanwhile leapt away from her attackers, landing on a building before spreading her arms out. Wing-like protrusions formed from her back armor with harp strings between them that were strummed. She summoned three gates, unleashing massive streams of fire, water, and air. The two Riders and Wielders that were facing her were forced to dodge as the elemental streams tore up the area and caused massive explosions due to hitting several gas tanks.

Everyone yelled out as they tried to avoid the chain reaction of explosions the best they could, Saber and Buster using their Wonder Ride Books to defend themselves as they were nearly blown away from Calibur who had quickly leapt away to avoid the explosions.

The Rider of Darkness could only stare through the flames as he landed, "Even if you somehow defeat me you can't beat her."


SONG was currently trying to analyze the fight, especially when it came to Carol's remarkable power.

"She isn't singing…" Sakuya spoke up in near shock, "…and yet her energy output is off the charts. Where is it all coming from?"

"Memory combustion," Elfnein said.

Sakuya looked over, "Memory?"

"Carol and the Autoscorers derive their power from the chained transmutation of the electric signals in the brain commonly referred to as 'memories'," Elfnein explained, "Recently created beings lack enough memories to effectively convert to offensive power, requiring them to supplement them with memories stolen from others, but Carol's long life has given her centuries of memories in reserve."

"Which is how she wields such tremendous power," Maria said.

"What happens to the memories that are used in this way?" Sophia asked.

"They are combusted and lost," Elfnein said, "Carol intends to finish things with this battle."

The results were clear as day, as they saw Carol continue to use her wires to tear up the ground before bringing out energy projectiles to overwhelm Tsubasa. Slash and Blades had tried to intervene, Slash firing off multiple arrows and energy bullets only for Carol to catch those with a stone wall she summoned.

Blades had used that as a distraction to strike at her only for her to catch him in a water bubble, freezing it and sending it crashing into Slash, the two Riders tumbling away. Chris had attempted Giga Zeppelin in order to overwhelm Carol only for Carol to easily break through them all with her wires, creating a drill out of them before trapping Chris in a tornado of wind and striking her with the drill.

Despite the current situation growing grimmer when it came to facing Carol, there was some relief in that all four combatants were slowly but surely getting up.

"Not yet!" Maria called out defiantly, "They're not done yet!"

"It's only now we'll see the full potential of the Ignite Modules," Elfnein said.

"Ignite…" Hibiki muttered.


"To hell with this," Chris hissed out.

"Are you okay, Yukine?" Tsubasa asked as she fully picked herself up alongside her friend.

"Just okay enough to still pull out our trump card," Chris said.

"If you have something up your sleeve, now's your chance to show it," Carol scoffed at hearing that, "While those new Wonder Ride Books are amusing, it's clear they aren't your secret weapons for winning against me. They're just a mere byproduct, am I right?"

"Hey, what did you say?!" Slash called out as he held up his crossbow.

"Daishinji, please calm down," Blades said as he picked himself up and hurried over.

"It doesn't matter what you bring out, I'll crush all your hopes without mercy," Carol said with confidence.

"We're in this together, right?" Chris asked.

"Of course, I'd never let you go alone," Tsubasa replied.

"Do what you need to do," Slash said as he began to circle around Carol carefully, "We'll cover you."

"Right," Blades gave a nod as he did the same.

"There's no need," Carol chuckled, "Let me see you at full power, anything less and I'll simply slaughter you all."

"What?" Slash questioned.

"That is… oddly kind," Blades admitted.

"Huh?" Calibur soon looked over to where Chris and Tsubasa were, "Interesting."

"What?" Saber turned, "What are they doing?"

"They're activating the next phase," Buster answered.

Chris and Tsubasa stood up before shouting in tandem, "Ignite Module! Bakken!"

The two held their pendants and before clicking them inwards and removing them from their armor to hold them out.

{Dáinsleif}

The pendants announced in a robotic tone before floating into the air. They shifted shape before transforming into a four spiked design, three spikes pointing outwards while the fourth pointed inwards, the tip of the fourth spike crackling with power. In an instant they shot at their users, piercing them where the pendants would normally rest.

Chris and Tsubasa both gasped out as red and black aura began engulfing their bodies.

"Wait, what?!" Saber questioned as he took a step forward.

"This power…! Is ripping me apart…!" Tsubasa choked out.

"This is…" Saber trailed, recalling the texts he read on Dáinselif, he knew he had a bad feeling about it but he wasn't expecting something of this level.

"Project Ignite," Buster said, recalling their prior conversation.


"Project Ignite," Genjuro said, "And Project Ride Gear."

"Two plans…?" Tsubasa asked.

"For now let's focus on Project Ignite as that is the basis for everything," Daishinji said.

"As you are aware, the Symphogear possess functions that can turn the tide of battle," Elfnein said.

Tsubasa nodded, "The Superb Songs…"

"And the X-Drive mode," Chris finished.

"However, the Superb Songs are a suicidal power boost intended for direct combat," Elfnein said.

"For everything else, there's X-Drive!" Chris held up a fist.

"But that only works when extreme Phonic Gain is available," Ogawa reminded, "We can't rely on miracles as part of our usual strategies."

"When it comes down to it, X-Drive will come when the time is right, but compared to the Riders there was no way to form change and grow stronger," Daishinji said.

"One, it's a lot more useful than you all are giving it credit for," Chris said holding up one finger before holding up another, "Two, you're speaking in the past tense, why?"

"Have you forgotten the Symphogear's one other function?" Elfnein asked.

"It's only happened to Hibiki," Daishinji said, "But essentially…"

"Tachibana's going berserk is not a function!" Tsubasa argued once she figured out what they were getting at.

Chris could only glare and walked over to Elfnein, lifting her slightly by the collar of her dress, "You better not be suggesting what I think you are!"

"A-ah, what are you doing, Chris?!" Rintaro yelped at Chris' actions.

"Calm down," Daishinji said as he separated the two, "We're very much well aware of what's happened to Hibiki."

"The goal of Project Ignite is to harness that berserk power and transmute it into raw combat potential so that you can face Carol," Elfnein explained.


Everyone at SONG HQ was looking on horrified at what was going on, though Elfnein was handling it better than everyone else.

"The core of the module is Dáinsleif, the murderous blade of legend," Elfnein spoke up, "Its curse brings forth the darkness that exists within all hearts, artificially inducing a berserk state."

"However," Sophia spoke up, "Should the users have the strength of will to suppress the urge to destroy…"

"The Symphogear will be able to defeat Carol's alchemy," Elfnein gave a nod.

"Strength of will…" Hibiki muttered as she watched on.

Everyone was interrupted from their thoughts as Chris and Tsubasa's screams grew louder, their eyes beginning to glow a bright red.


'That dummy had to withstand this terrible urge all that time?!' Chris thought as she felt herself being ripped apart.

'I feel if I lose focus for but a moment, I'll be plunged into the abyss…' Tsubasa thought as she felt the same feeling.

The two were fading in and out of reality, blacking out briefly as the darkness of the Ignite Module forced them experience nightmares that twisted their pasts into their current lives. The darkness surrounding their thoughts was encroaching even further and causing them further pain.

"Their minds can't handle the backlash from the system!" Sakuya's voice rang through communications.

"What?" Saber asked.

"Tsubasa and Chris can't take much more of this!" Aoi shouted.

"They're going berserk?!" Buster questioned.

"Damn it, I know they're stronger than this…" Slash muttered.

"Even so, you must believe in Tsubasa and Chris," Elfnein's voice could be heard.

To everyone's surprise, Tsubasa had reached out and grabbed Chris' hand, the two snapping out of their nightmare induced trances.

"Sorry," Tsubasa apologized, "I just feel like if I don't hold onto your hand, I'll be swallowed by some endless abyss."

"Thanks for the wake-up call," Chris admitted, "That dream just about got the better of me."

A bright light occurred as the two fell to their hands and knees, breathing heavily as their armor and bodies were littered with scuffs and scratches.

"Not good…" Slash muttered, "We had to skip some tuning and adjustments for Ride Gear to make it before the power went out so we don't have a backup form…"

"They made it out… but they couldn't activate it," Saber muttered before gripping Rekka tightly.

Carol couldn't help but feel disappointed at the result, "It didn't work?"


"This isn't good!" Sakuya shouted.

"They weren't able to activate the modules!" Aoi confirmed.

"I guess my alchemy can't stop Carol after all," Elfnein looked down.

"Don't worry," Miku said as she walked over, having noticed something that Elfnein was carrying before taking the scientists hand and lifting it up, "There's still hope."

"Is that…?" Hibiki asked.

"It's the enhanced Gungnir," Elfnein confirmed.

Hibiki took hold of the Pendant and smiled, "Touma's been fighting hard without me. So I'll fight too, I won't let them destroy our Gear or our hope ever again."

"Hibiki, are you sure you're fit to be fighting?" Sophia asked.

"I am," Hibiki said before walking towards the door.

"Then I'll go with you to see you off," Sophia said as she stood up, "There's also something you need to know."

"Alright," Hibiki nodded.

The two left but unfortunately the sudden onslaught of news wasn't going to slow down in the slightest.

"Huh?" Sakuya said as he got an alert, "I'm picking up a signal!"

"What?" Maria asked, "What kind of signal?"

"Tracking it…" Sakuya said before his eyes widened, "It's coming… from us?"

"What, how?" Miku asked.

"How exactly is that possible?" Aoi asked as she began to cross reference it with their records, "The signal we just picked up… it's!"


"Did you run out of strength?" Carol asked as she began to walk towards the fallen Wielders, "Or did you snap under the pressure? Either way, I'll help you get back on your feet!"

"We won't let you do that!" Slash called out as he slid in front of her alongside Blades.

"By Suiseiken Nagare and the Ame no Habakiri I wield…" Blades brandished both swords, "You won't be going another step further!"

"Very well," Carol held a sinister smirk, "I'll tear you useless swordsmen-!"

[BATTOU!]

A bright orange light could be seen in the sky before a fiery phoenix shot at Carol at high speeds. Carol quickly formed a barrier blocking the phoenix and forcing it to bounce off, the flamed dispersing to reveal Falchion.

[ETERNAL PHOENIX!]

"K-Kanade…?" Tsubasa asked with a wince as she saw this.

Falchion let out a blood curdling scream as her body began to light on fire, a black fiery aura surrounding her as she rushed forward and slashed at Carol who brought up another barrier.

"So Master Logos' puppet has finally snapped, huh?!" Carol remarked as she unleashed a pulse from the barrier to force Falchion back.

"Master Logos…?" Blades muttered.

"Crap, she must've not been in a good state of mind when she was defeated the last time," Slash realized, "And because of that she's gone crazy!"

"No way…" Tsubasa's eyes went wide with horror.

"As fun as it would be to deal with you…" Carol dismissed her barrier before forming a gateway at Falchion's side and unleashing a whirlwind to blow her away, "I could care less about a Rider at the moment!"

Falchion yelled as she crashed against the ground, slowly getting to her knees. She screamed out as she pounded the ground, seemingly driven to madness as the flames on her body grew wilder.

"Kanade…" Buster muttered before yelling out and charging towards Falchion, "Kanade you need to calm down!"

Falchion turned at the yell and yelled back in turn, charging towards Buster to strike at him. Buster braced with Gekido before grabbing Falchion with his free hand.

"Calm down Kanade!" Buster yelled out before he gasped, a burst of flames forcing him back before he raised Gekido to block against a follow-up slash. At the very least he was focusing her attention on him, he'd fight her as long as he needed to in order to give the others breathing room.

"It would appear that this battle is over," Calibur spoke up, "Relinquish your Seiken and Wonder Ride Books and I'll simply leave."

"Like we'll ever give up," Saber called out as he initiated his finisher, drawing out his sword as flames erupted from it.

[HISSATSU DOKUHA! REKKA BATTOU!]

Calibur spun out of the way of Saber's fiery slash, spinning while holstering Kurayami in his Hissatsu Holder, darkness gathering within the blade.

[KURAYAMI IAI! DOKUGO ISSEN!]

Calibur performed a spinning slash, striking Saber directly in the gut and unleashing a wave of darkness outwards.

Saber yelled out as he slammed against the ground, gasping and breathing heavily as he lost his transformation.

"Not good!" Chris yelled.

"Kamiyama!" Tsubasa shouted before giving a wince.

"Touma!" Blades called out.

"It's all going to hell!" Slash shouted.

"Now let's deal with the Swordsmen I could care less about!" Carol yelled out as she summoned a gateway in front of her, unleashing a stream of flames towards the two Riders.

[MAKYŪ ICHAIVAL! SUZUNE ONDOKU GEKI! YAY!]

Slash switched his weapon into its sword mode and pressed the Wonder Ride Book against the finisher slot while bracing with his arm. Suddenly a red sound wave barrier with gold crystals interlaced formed in front of him and Blades.

Slash gritted his teeth as he tried to keep the flames back only for the fire to slowly but surely crack the barrier before shattering it. The two Riders yelled out as they braced, sparks flying as they were thrown past Chris and Tsubasa. The two Riders crashed against the ground as Slash was forced into his base form while Rintaro was knocked out of his Rider form entirely, the damage from earlier being enough to force his transformation off.

"Daishinji, Rintaro!" Touma gasped out as he tried to pick himself up only to fall down from the pain he was feeling. Despite this he still tried to stand, the Kaenken Rekka and Brave Dragon Ride Books resonating with each other briefly.

Calibur noticed this and could only hum in curiosity, wondering why exactly Rekka was reacting now of all times.

"I think it's time we end this farce," Carol said before tossing a capsule up into the air, this time it summoned a large carrier Alca-Noise that begun spawning smaller flying ones.

"She's summoning more Alca-Noise?" Tsubasa questioned.

"Stand and fight Symphogear Wielders," Carol said as the flying Alca-Noise began dive bombing and striking various points of the city around them, "Or sit there and watch the city burn. If you won't sing for me, then the people's dying screams will be your elegy!"

The sound of missiles could be heard as SONG had launched out several of them to deal with the Alca-Noise threat. Piercing through the missiles roars with her own scream was Hibiki, clad in Gungnir once more as she rode a missile directly towards the carrier Alca-Noise. She struck the Alca-Noise with a single punch, the missile she was riding striking it at the same time. Hibiki jumped off as the missile exploded, her double attack obliterating the Alca-Noise as the missiles took out some of the stragglers.

"That took you long enough," Carol remarked as she looked overhead.

"So she arrives at last," Calibur said as he saw the destruction before him.

Hibiki soon landed by her fellow Symphogear Wielders, a hardened and determined expression on her face.

"Thank you," Tsubasa said, "You're a lifesaver."

"Let's not talk about that ever again," Chris said, a bit embarrassed that they had to get saved after getting their upgrade.

Hibiki nodded to the two before looking over at Touma and giving a soft but melancholic smile, "I'm sorry Touma."

"Why are you sorry?" Touma asked with a chuckle, he knew why she was saying that but he knew now wasn't the time for that, "You're here now, right?"

"I am, and like everyone else I'll carry on Kento's convictions," Hibiki said before steeling herself, "That's why we're going to try and use the Ignite Modules once more!"

"Hibiki…?" Touma asked in surprise.

"In our current condition, we might not survive," Tsubasa said.

"Miku told me something," Hibiki said, "She said that the power of Symphogear saved her! If this power really is meant for helping people, then it should help us, the Wielders, first of all! That's why we need to have faith! We can break the Dáinsleif's curse!"

"With my old, trusty companion, Ame no Habakiri…" Tsubasa trailed.

"With the Ichaival that changed my life…" Chris trailed as well.

"And with the Gungnir," Hibiki continued, "Let's believe in the song of our hearts… in our Symphogear!"

"I feel dumb playing along with such a cheesy speech, but sure!" Chris admitted with a chuckle.

"Let's do this one more time!" Tsubasa agreed.

"And you really think I'll allow you to do that?" Calibur asked as he began to walk forward, passing Touma as he began to walk between Carol and the Symphogear Wielders, "I'll simply cut you down if you can't handle that power."

Carol narrowed her eyes but smirked as she knew what Calibur was attempting to do.

"I won't let you!"

Carol's eyes glanced over in surprise to see Touma managing to pick himself up, the Swordsman of Flames managing to run and stagger over between Calibur and the Symphogear Wielders.

"Oh?" Calibur gave a hum, "And what is this?"

"Hibiki, Tsubasa, Chris…" Touma spoke as he held Rekka out in a defensive manner, "Do it, take all the time you need to break the curse! I'll make sure they don't interrupt this!"

The three girls gave nods before grasping their pendants, "Ignite Module! Bakken!"

The three clicked their Pendants before taking them off of the armor and holding them up.

{Dáinsleif}

Once again the Pendant's sharpened before piercing the three in the chest. All of them screamed in pain and while it was horrible to hear, Touma steeled himself as he stood between Calibur and them.

"You aren't strong enough to protect anything," Calibur called out, "You've reached your limit and can't possibly defeat this form of mine."

"No… I will protect them…!" Touma called out as he gripped Rekka tightly, its emblem and the Brave Dragon book pulsating further, "I won't stand aside and let you hurt any of my friends any longer!"

"What?" Carol raised an eyebrow at the resonance she was witnessing.


Sophia had returned to SONG's bridge where everyone else was alongside Ogawa, the co-commander having asked their Swordsman of Wind to stay on standby. This was mostly to keep their base secure in some fashion since they weren't sure if the Megid retreating was a ruse to strike at their base or not.

It didn't take long for Kirika and Shirabe to join everyone as well, the two having gotten changed and fully dressed after arriving.

"This is just like what happened before…" Aoi trailed.

"Slice up that curse!" Maria called out as she raised a fist.

"Shoot straight through it!" Kirika clasped her hands together.

"Have courage, and punch it with all your might!" Shirabe pleaded as she held her hands close.

"Huh?" Sakuya said before he let out a gasp, "Another reading?!"

"What is it this time?" Sophia asked.

"It's… it's from inside the base too but we're not getting any known matches," Sakuya said as he tried to figure out what exactly was causing the signal.

Miku looked over curiously but everyone suddenly heard the sound of a dragon's roar echo throughout the base. She couldn't help but look back at the entrance of the bridge, realizing what it might be before looking over at the screen that showed Touma.

Within the Relic and Seiken workshop, the silver book that Touma had obtained from Avalon began shining a bright red. It flashed in tandem with Rekka and Brave Dragon's pulsations before it became a ball of bright red energy that phased through the case it was in. It shot its way all throughout SONG's submarine HQ before finding the exit and flying towards the battle at high speeds.


The bright red light caught everyone's attention, it slowing down as it began to float around Touma who soon took notice of it.

"That's…" Calibur trailed.

"The other book from Avalon…?" Touma questioned.

"Wait, what?" Carol asked, not expecting this turn of events.

Watching from afar was the hooded man from Avalon. Alongside him was Luna who began to speak through the book, her voice changing to a more recognizable childlike tone.

"I know you can do it, Touma!"

"Luna…?" Touma gasped as his eyes widened, he reached and grasped the book, the glow around it bursting into sparks as it was now fully formed as some of the pages had color to them and it had a fully realized cover, "Luna!"

The Brave Dragon was large and covering the bottom of the cover with a silhouetted knight that held a bright red visor seemingly riding it. The title of it was…

[DRAGONIC KNIGHT!]

[A dramatic battle of the class of knight who flashily rides a huge dragon…]

Touma instantly placed the book onto the God Beast slot of his Swordriver, slotting Rekka within it before drawing it out. The sword was coated in flames instantly as he held it forward before performing a cross slash, the fire launching outwards, "Henshin!"

[REKKA BATTOU!]

Drawing out the sword from the Swordriver had opened up the cover of the book before revealing that Dragonic Knight had multiple pages that slid out, the pages covering the rest of the slots on the Swordriver. The elongated page this time showed a clearer version of the knight, showing him as silver while the Brave Dragon was also fully seen.

[DON'T MISS IT!]

(THE KNIGHT APPEARS~ WHEN YOU SIDE~)

[DO-METALLIC ARMOR!]

The Brave Dragon launched out and began circling around Touma as silver armor with red accents launched out of the pages in a small cluster. The cluster of armor broke apart before latching onto Touma as the flames he launched out returned, the Brave Dragon circling and hovering around him as flames began to rise.

(YOU HAVE NO GRIEF AND THE FLAME IS BRIGHT~)

[DO-HADENIKKU BOOSTER!]

This form of Saber's was a drastic change to his prior ones as nothing of it truly resembled his base form at first glance. He now had a black bodysuit covering his body, various knight like armoring coating most of his body and only leaving small gaps. The armoring was silver in coloration with bright red accents. His helmet resembled that of a classic knight, his visor was a cross-slash that resembled flames, the visor being bright red with a compound texture to it while his head crest remained the same.

(RIDE ON DRAGON, FIGHT~)

[DO-HAKURYOKU RIDER!]

In addition to this armor, he held the top half of a dragon's head on his left arm, it resembling a gauntlet of sorts as it also had a handle that rested near the hand with a button for some sort of activation.

(DRAGONIC KNIGHT~)

[DRAGONIC KNIGHT!]

Saber stood before them in his shining new armor, sword resting at his side as the flames that rose during his transformation still stayed lit around him.

[In other words… he's very strong!]

"Huh?" Buster turned as he blocked a slash from Falchion with his left gauntlet, "Touma…"

"What am I looking at…?" Carol questioned.

"So you've obtained a new power… but it's no use!" Calibur called out as he unleashed a dark slash towards Saber to force him out of the way. The dark slash was suddenly impeded by the flames around Saber, the fires gathering and coating the slash in fire before launching it back at Calibur. The Dark Rider could only gasp out as he staggered back from the reflected attack, "What?!"

"This power…" Carol narrowed her eyes.

"I just told you I wouldn't stand aside," Saber said as he took a step forward, "I'll fight as long as I have to, because I believe they can break that curse!"

"T-Touma…" Hibiki muttered as she felt the pain and darkness coursing through her. Her, Chris and Tsubasa had all seen Touma's transformation, the three of them fighting through the pain and realizing they couldn't let themselves drown in it, 'He's right… we can do it. Because Miku made me realize the determination needed to wield this power! So I won't lose to some primal urge!'

All three Wielders shared the same sentiment, the three shouting in unison in their minds.

'NONE OF US WILL!'

The dark energy was absorbed into their pendants before it ripped apart their armor, red energy spreading out from their chests and coating them in monstrous forms. The three Wielders all broke through the red energy, revealing they now had black armoring that held a sharp and sinister look to it.

"They… they did it…" Rintaro said with a a tired smile.

"They did…" Slash chuckled as he stood up, grabbing hold of the Zettō Ame no Habakiri Book and walking forward, "Now then…"

The three Symphogear Wielders began to sing as they walked forward, the three standing beside Saber. Despite the black sinister armor they held and the contrast that was Dragonic Knight, the four still looked like heroes fighting for the same cause.

"Modules activated!" Sakuya's voice could be heard, "Initiating safety countdown!"

[ZETTŌ AME NO HABAKIRI! JUUKEN GEKIDAN!]

Slash walked to stand beside the four with a blue flash, his arm now having the same armoring that Blades had when using the Gear based Wonder Ride Book. He held a replica of Ame no Habakiri and looked over to where Buster and Falchion were.

"Kazanari," Slash said as he brandished both his Seiken and replica Armed Gear, "We only have so much time. I shall take up your place as a sword, so do what you must to get your precious friend back."

"H-Huh…?" Saber had to do a slight double-take as he realized Slash's demeanor and way of speaking had changed again. Shaking his head he stared forward, realizing that now wasn't the time to bring this up.

"Of course," Tsubasa nodded as she immediately broke off from the grouping to run towards Buster and Falchion.

"You have other things to worry about!" Carol called out as she leapt backwards, landing on a building while scattering dozens of Alca-Noise capsules, summoning hordes upon hordes of Alca-Noise.

"Approximately three thousand Alca-Noise detected!" Aoi called through communications.

"Three thousand…?" Ogawa asked.

Hibiki ran forward despite the announcement of numbers, "Three thousand… is that all?!"

The Wielder of Gungnir leapt forward, her right gauntlet changing shape as she shot straight through a horde of Alca-Noise, tearing through them in an instant.

"Even without Kazanari, we can still handle it," Slash called out as he rubbed both of his blades against each other, kicking up sparks as both of them ignited into blue, he then spun and slashed forward. The fiery slashes combined together into a massive fireball, "Knights Ignited Cross-Flash!"

The fireball hurtled through the Noise, burning them away and clearing a path for Tsubasa.

"Thank you!" Tsubasa called out as she leapt for Buster and Falchion, "Kanade!"

Buster looked up before backing away while Falchion let out a shout, soon turning when she heard her name.

{Blue Flash}

Tsubasa's blade had split down the center, blue energy being built up between before she slashed downwards. The blue slash of lightning struck against Falchion, causing an explosion. The smoke was immediately cleared by Falchion who unleashed a burst of flames before charging forward.

"It's time I bring you back!" Tsubasa yelled out as she landed before charging towards Falchion.

{MEGA DETH QUARTET}

Chris had begun forming her full armory, unleashing four massive missiles and a huge spread of smaller missiles at every Alca-Noise in front of her. The four massive missiles opened and shot out hundreds more missiles that struck the Alca-Noise in the air. Explosions lit up the sky as the airborne threat of the Alca-Noise was fully eliminated.

Calibur had rushed forward to confront Saber in battle, the silver knight calmly walking towards him. He slashed several times, sparks flying but Saber was still advancing. He gave a yell and slashed once more, this time increasing the power behind his swing.

Saber raised his left arm, blocking Calibur's next slash before swinging out and forcing Calibur to spin away. He wasn't done yet as he threw his left hand forward, fire erupting from the ground near Calibur and forcing the Dark Rider back further.

"You abandoned your allies… you say you don't need them…" Saber trailed as he gripped his left fist tightly, "But the only reason all of us have gotten this far and can still fight is because of our friendship!"

"Now this is getting me excited!" Carol grinned at Hibiki, Chris and Tsubasa easily dealing with the obstacles before them. Though she frowned when she saw Calibur fighting against Saber, "But first…!"

Carol summoned several small yellow gateways around her before launching out blasts of energy towards Saber.

Saber saw the light coming from the corner of his eye and his head quickly shot up. He raised his hand, it shining a bright red as heat radiated off of it, the device on his forearm suddenly calling outwards.

[DRAGONIC BOOSTER! SPICY!]

Saber shouted as he began swinging his arm forward, smacking away the blasts of energy and deflecting them all around him. Most of the blasts ended up striking the Alca-Noise hordes, eviscerating them in the process.

Both Carol and Calibur were in shock, "WHAT?!"

"Your strength may come from either casting everything aside or alchemy, but for Hibiki and I…" Saber tapped the side of the Dragonic Booster, the top half of it opening up to reveal a Ride Book reader inside of it, "Our strength… our strength comes from wanting to protect the people we love!"

He drew out the Brave Dragon Ride Book before scanning it on the Booster and closing it up.

[ONE! READING! BRAVE DRAGON!]

Saber soon held Rekka in a reverse grip with his right hand as he held his left arm forward, flames coating his arm as the Dragonic Booster initiated its special attack. Saber launched forward before leaping into the air.

Calibur quickly raised Kurayami to brace against the attack, "This won't-"

[FLAME SPICY!]

Saber yelled out and slammed his fist into Kurayami, bursts of flames exploding outwards and forcing Calibur to stagger backwards.

"Damn it… I won't let my plans be foiled by some stupid and shiny new toy…" Carol narrowed her eyes, realizing she needed to go on her offensive now. She leapt off the building she was on before yelling out, flinging her strings like whips to lash out at Hibiki who dodged out of the way. She then landed before summoning a gateway and launching a beam of energy at Chris who barely just dodged out of the way. She seemed to be getting desperate now as she was tearing through her own forces to try and attack the Symphogear Wielders.

As the battles raged on, Tsubasa was currently fighting a heated battle against Falchion who had surprisingly abandoned her sword, keeping it in the Bladriver as she simply punched and swiped at the Wielder of Ame no Habakiri.

Tsubasa was batting away the strikes with ease, noticing how wild and uncontrolled they were.

"Kanade, please calm down!" Tsubasa called out as she raised her sword to block a direct punch before grabbing the Rider's wrist, "It's me, Tsubasa!"

"Tsu… Tsu… basa…" Falchion finally spoke before grunting in pain and yelling out before pulling away punching the ground, unleashing a burst of flames outwards.

Tsubasa quickly spun her sword like a shield, defending herself against the flames as she skidded back.

"Agh… I… RAGH!" Falchion screamed out before clutching her arms and holding herself tightly as if hugging herself. She screamed further before the fires on her armor exploded outwards and formed into giant phoenix wings.

"So this is it…" Tsubasa narrowed her eyes realizing now was her chance she soon held out her hand, "Uncle, I need Bremen no Rock Band!"

"Understood," Buster drew out the Wonder Ride Book before tossing it over to Tsubasa, "Strike at full force Tsubasa!"

"Let's put Project Ride Gear to the test," Tsubasa said as she held Bremen no Rock Band over her pendant, a pinging sound being heard.

{Wonder Ride Sync}

As if reacting to the robotic announcement her sword began to shift and enlarge itself at the hilt and guard area, forming a perfect slot for a Wonder Ride Book. She slid it into the slot, the Ride Book locking in place as another chime was heard.

Tsubasa shouted as she gripped her sword with both hands, shifting its shape into a cleaver form before she pressed down on the Wonder Ride Book as yet another chime was heard.

{Hissatsu Dokuha: Bremen no Rock Band}

"Kanade…" Tsubasa gripped her sword tightly as it began to pulsate, visible sound waves and musical notes being seen around it as her ankle blades lowered themselves and began gathering fire within them. She concentrated, recalling Daishinji's lessons of putting her emotions and song into her blade. She would use her emotions, her voice, amplified by Ignite and Bremen no Rock Band to reach out and save Kanade, "…LISTEN TO MY SONG!"

Falchion yelled out and launched forward, her wings flapping once to launch her towards Tsubasa at high speeds.

Tsubasa yelled out as her ankle blades acted like boosters, launching her forward as she kept her blade low before stabbing forward. An explosion of fire and sound occurred as both Rider and Wielder were caught within it.

{Ride Gear Finish!}

Buster shielded his eyes with his arm, "Tsubasa!"

Calibur shouted as he launched up into the air, planning on finishing his battle with Saber. He summoned the Jaou Dragon, landing on it as the four golden dragons that accompanied it began to fly alongside him.

"Like that'll deter me!" Saber called out as he tapped his book several times. He summoned a larger version of the Brave Dragon before leaping onto its back.

Saber and the Brave Dragon charged towards Calibur and the Jaou Dragon. The two Riders slashed past each other, but only merely clashed their blades against one another. The four golden dragons began launching out explosive projectiles which Saber managed to dodge, having the Brave Dragon swerve and fly around them. Both Calibur and Saber continued to ride their dragons, clashing against each other several times.

The Brave Dragon roared before spitting out a multitude of fireballs, the fireballs homing in and striking each of the gold dragons. Each one screeched out before they exploded, leaving only Calibur and Jaou Dragon left. The Brave and Jaou Dragons roared at each other, striking past each other several times before they moved a far distance away from the other.

Both Calibur and Saber stood up from their dragons, leaping off of them and initiating their finishers.

[JAOU! HISSATSU DOKUHA!]

[DRAGONIC HISSATSU DOKUHA!]

"Dragon God's Steel Bullet!" Saber kicked forward as a red aura erupted from his foot, launching himself towards Calibur.

Calibur said nothing as darkness coated his entire body, kicking out and striking Saber's foot, the two clashing their kicks against each other.

[DRAGONIC HISSATSU GEKI!]

[JAOU HISSATSU GEKI!]

"One day you'll understand," Calibur called out, "Some things in this world can only be obtained when sacrifices are made!"

"I won't accept that!" Saber yelled as he pushed further and further, putting more power into his kick, "How this story ends is for me to decide!"

Calibur gasped out as his dark power was overwhelmed, an explosive burst of fire from Saber launching him downwards. Saber dropped down after him, slotting Rekka into the Swordriver while drawing out Ikazuchi from his holster before holding the scanner of it underneath the Dragonic Booster.

[SPECIAL! MM-HM-HMMM!]

Ikazuchi crackled with electricity as Saber placed it in his left hand. He then gripped Rekka with his right hand before initiating his finisher and drawing it out.

[HISSATSU DOKUHA! REKKA BATTOU!]

"Blazing Grand Revolution!" Saber crossed his arms together, fire and electricity erupting from both Rekka and Ikazuchi respectively. A projection of Espada appeared behind him, mimicking his movements as he slashed downwards, performing a fire and lightning filled cross slash towards Calibur.

[DRAGONIC HISSATSU GIRI!]

[KANZEN DOKUHA ISSEN!]

Calibur quickly coated his body in darkness only for the slashes to strike against him. Sparks began to spew heavily from his suit before he yelled further, an explosion occurring. The explosion was so massive that even Saber wasn't sure what had happened to Calibur.

The keen eye would however be able to see that Kurayami was launched far away, embedding itself in the ground as a dark aura surrounded it.

The man from Avalon had a satisfied smile as he watched this, "So you've passed the final test…"

"Good job, Touma," Luna smiled.

Carol continued her battle against the Symphogear Wielders and Slash, managing to wrap her wires around one of Hibiki's arms. Hibiki however pulled on the strings, forcing Carol to take a few steps forward while forcing her in one spot.

[ZETTŌ AME NO HABAKIRI!]

Slash gathered blue energy in both of his swords as he readied his Ride Book's finisher, "Yukine, now!"

"Don't need to tell me twice!" Chris yelled out as she took aim and launched two crystals out to pierce through Carol's armor.

Slash yelled spun and performed two slashes, unleashing a cross-slash of blue energy outwards, "Blue Sword Lightning Punishment!"

[SUZUNE ONDOKU GEKI! YAY!]

Carol quickly brought out more wires in her free arm, forming another wire drill and having it spin rapidly to deflect both attacks. But that was just the opening Hibiki needed, having launched forward and become a fireball that slammed directly into Carol, dragging her across the battlefield and slamming her into a building. Carol winced at this as she tried to move but barely could as her armor had been torn apart as well.

Hibiki launched upwards into the air before using her boosters to launch her downwards as her leg armor increased in size, diving and performing a downwards kick with a yell.

"HIBIKI STYLE: STAR STREAM SPEAR!"

Upon the final uttering of the attack name, Hibiki crashed down and caused a massive explosion that obliterated the rest of the building.

The smoke eventually cleared to reveal Hibiki standing, breathing heavily as she stared down at Carol.

Carol herself had gone back to her child-like appearance and clothing, though that was torn up as well. She was breathing heavily as she seemed to have just barely survived that last attack.

"Jeez," Saber said as he saw the explosion and smoke as he began to walk over to Slash and Chris, "Looks like you guys made it out alright."

"Of course we did," Chris gave a smirk.

"So you've finally unlocked that other power from Avalon, Kamiyama," Slash noted.

"Yeah," Saber said as he gripped his left hand and as a result, the Dragonic Booster, tightly, "This is my new power."

"Good job you all," Rintaro smiled as he limped over, "That was very impressive."

"Rintaro, are you alright?" Saber asked as he looked over in concern.

"I will be fine," RIntaro reassured as he dusted himself off, "I just got a bit roughed up is all."

"Carol…" Hibiki spoke up as she walked towards the girl and held out a hand, "Why did you want to take apart the world?"

"I can't remember," Carol said as she slapped Hibiki's hand away, "I already burned those memories to fuel my power to fight. Don't think for one moment that the cursed melody you sing could ever save anyone."

Carol gave one last smirk before audibly biting down on something, a green flash occurring.

"Carol!" Hibiki called out.

Carol simply fell onto her side before burning up into green flames, becoming nothing more than ashes.

"Suicide…?" Slash muttered in near shock as Hibiki immediately screamed in horror. Chris meanwhile was completely speechless alongside Saber.

Saber however walked over to Hibiki and put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. The two stared at the ashes for a while, and as the initial shock wore down, Hibiki couldn't help but think on Carol's last words.

"A cursed melody that can't save anyone…?" Hibiki asked as she looked up, she put a hand on Saber's to let him know she was alright, "You're wrong. I won't let that be true, Carol…"

Watching from afar was Storious who had chosen to use the retreat to watch the battle in the shadows in his monster form. Legeiel and Zooous weren't with them as they were planning to regroup at base and plan their next move, already knowing that the next phase of Carol's plan would be implemented.

"A cursed melody would be dangerous… if you were around to see this plan through…" Storious merely chuckled as he began to walk away, his plan was to find and retrieve the Anokuken Kurayami before it was found by SONG or anyone else, "However you've only just started, while we're already more than halfway of the way there…"

As the battle began to calm down however, there was one question on everyone's minds. That question was what had happened to Tsubasa, as everyone dismissed their transformations they began to look around.

"Everyone," Genjuro called out as he waved them down, "Over here!"

The group quickly rushed over towards a crater that had been formed from Tsubasa and Falchion's final clash. Both were out of their transformations, Tsubasa holding Kanade in her arms in a similar fashion to when she had first lost her partner.

"Kanade…" Tsubasa repeated as she shook her friend, "Kanade!"

"Too loud…" Kanade muttered with a wince as she began to open her eyes, "Jeez… jeez it's too bright…"

"Kanade…?" Tsubasa asked.

"Tsubasa…?" Kanade spoke up causing everyone to pause, "Is that you…? I think the sun's out because I can barely see shit…"

"It's actually really cloudy," Tsubasa admitted as she began to tear up.

"Oh… I must've not been outside in a while if it seems really bright for me…" Kanade chuckled a bit in a tired voice, "I always hate that, having to get your bearings straight…"

"You have been gone for a good while," Tsubasa chuckled a bit despite her tears, "So just deal with it."

"Sorry about that…" Kanade trailed as she began to shift herself slightly, her vision slowly but surely adjusting, "It's not like I wanted to be gone all this time though. And honestly I thought I was a goner…"

"Well you aren't… now you're just a reckless girl who thinks she can bulldoze her way through anything," Tsubasa chided, "Seriously, I'm going to have a long talk to you about how you've been using those powers."

"Well would you look who grew up," Kanade let out a light laugh as she began to tear up, noticing Tsubasa's expression before giving a smile, "You're still a crybaby though…"

"I feel like I have every right to be," Tsubasa answered with a smile, "Welcome back, Kanade."

"It's good to be back," Kanade kept her smile.

"Kanade…" Hibiki smiled as she began to wipe the tears that formed.

"This is very touching…" Daishinji sniffled before turning away and putting an arm over his eyes.

"What a good ending for those two," Touma smiled as he adjusted his hat.

"Indeed," Rintaro agreed.

"Yep, all's well that ends well… as much as it can anyway," Chris admitted as Genjuro silently nodded in agreement.

"Now come here," Kanade said as she managed to get out of Tsubasa's grasp before pulling her friend into a full hug. Tsubasa couldn't help but let her tears flow even further as she hugged back, the duo of Zwei Wing finally reunited.

Despite Carol's words hanging over them alongside Kento's death, there was still a sense of hope despite it all. SONG had gotten through the darkest storm it had faced in a long time, perhaps the darkest storm it would ever face. But now they were all ready to keep on fighting for the bright future they wanted.

To Be Continued…


Author's Note: Whew, this was a big chapter folks, because there was a lot here! Not only was this Ignite's debut, we also had three of our Gear Ride Books show up, a little bit of the cross-functionality with the Symphogear System, and Dragonic Knight! Also hey, unlike Crimson and Emotional, Touma ended up getting Dragonic Knight in the middle of the season! Dragonic is going to get a lot of love by the way, so you fans of the suit don't worry, it won't be going underused.

Debuts alongside continuing to progress GX aside, we've got the biggest event for this story. It's what I've been building since the second chapter of this season, which was Kanade's true return. I figured now would be a good time for her to truly return, it's another good lifting moment after our heroes were crushed and forced onto the precipice of defeat multiple times before now.

Of course we'll be slowing down a bit… kind of, there's some debuts left to get through given where we are on the Saber side of the plot. With that said, thanks for reading and I'll see you all next time.