An ear-piercing screech from the van's halting wheels declared the team's arrival within Yamaku's outskirts. It took 20 minutes for Team-04 to race out of the city's vicinity, and just like their sensors predicted, a Distortion rift had erupted into existence high above the forest tree-line. Volleys of disciplined gunfire echoed from deep within the woods as Lanfen swung open the van's backdoors and met the snow-covered road with her Symphogear's armoured boots. A quick glance at the tear in reality allowed her to spot the legion of battle automata which were raining upon the forest, provoking a deep scowl across the Adaptor's face. It was almost fortunate that there was little-to-no civilian presence in these parts of the outskirts.
"Keep your guard up out there, Jiang," Ayano advised while she sat down on the chair of the van's terminal. "We're only detecting Category-1s so far, but that could always change in an instant." Settling her hands on the terminal's keyboard, the brunette wasted no time linking up their communications with the command center of the S.O.N.G. submarine. "We've just received additional orders from command! Yuki, Jiang, we're all clear to proceed."
With one hand still holding on to the steering wheel in case they needed an 'emergency relocation', Godai shifted the vehicle's gear-lever into a parked state before flashing Lanfen a thumbs-up over her shoulder. "Show 'em what you can do like always, Jiang!"
Acknowledging her senior's encouragement with a curt nod, Lanfen patiently tapped her boot on the concrete road while Ayano inputted a specific command into the terminal. An electronic chirp of confirmation subsequently rang from the metallic crate that they had recently strapped to the van's top, heralding the deployment of a palm-sized camera drone as the crate shifted open to reveal their latest piece of equipment. Propelled by experimental hover-tech recently developed by Professor Elfnein, the drone was designed to accompany Wielders into combat zones in order to maintain a consistent visual feed of their situations.
"This is SG-r04. I'm heading towards the incursion zone." Now that the deployed drone was in the air, Lanfen sped into the tree-line, kicking up heaps of white snow with each heavy footfall.
The crowned warrior batted away the tree branches which blocked her path with her gauntleted hands. From the short glimpses she was able to make through the forest canopy's gaps, Lanfen could spot the rift glowing high in the skies, further agitating the insistent twitching within her thirsting sword-hand. The distinct barking of gunfire was growing louder the further Lanfen sped into the woods, and while ongoing comm chatter indicated nothing other than a steady counterattack, the proverbial fires within the Adaptor's eyes could never calm down in the proximity of a Distortion rift. By the time Lanfen had reached the defensive line set up by Task Force Harmony, her body was aching to throw itself into the fray just so she could handle the situation all by herself.
But the standards which were imposed upon Lanfen by her very position dissuaded the Adaptor from acting out of line. Upon reminding herself of the image that Shinonome held of her, Lanfen reigned in her burning desires, and narrowed her eyes in focus while the bellows of heavy weaponry echoed throughout the forest. Owing to the command of Captain Yaiba, orders were calmly and swiftly delivered over the comms line, expertly orchestrating the armoured soldiers who were taking cover behind the thick trunks of the forest's countless trees. The descending Category-1 Distortions were landing right in the middle of an expansive forest clearing, giving the troops a clear line of sight for their weapons to open fire unobstructed.
And yet, for every Distortion which was gunned down in a hail of lead upon making landfall, two more would easily take its place.
Contributing to the counterattack's firepower were four of Harmony's bipedal combat walkers. Having physically bulldozed their way through the forest in order to even reach this far into the woods, few could actually complain about the trail of deforestation they left behind when their rotary guns scythed through the endless horde of armoured knights like mechanical harvesters set upon a field of crops. The proverbial weight their heavy weapons added to the barrage turned Distortion after Distortion into clouds of ebony sand, all while spent bullet casings spewed forth from ejectors to melt the snow beneath the machines with fresh, hot metal.
Rushing over to the Captain with a hand on the pommel of her sheathed sword, Lanfen greeted them with a formal salute that Captain Yaiba returned in kind, even if they were busy taking cover behind the trunk of a tree. Since the Adaptor could risk taking a blow unlike Harmony's soldiers, Lanfen waived off any attempt to hide as the team's camera drone hovered right next to her. "How's the situation, Captain?" If it weren't for their specialized headgear, neither of them would be able to even hear one another amidst the deafening symphony of gunfire.
"The Category-1s are arriving one after the other, but the line is holding," the Captain stated, tapping several inputs into their arm-bracer to bring up a holographic map of the incursion zone. Going by the distinct blips on the holographic projection, Harmony's forces had managed to position their forces along the edges of the forest glade, maintaining an effective barrier between the descending automata, and the direction which led right towards Yamaku City. "Our forces have intercepted at least fourteen Category-1 Distortions that were making their way to the city's borders. No Category-2s have arrived just yet, but my gut feeling tells me that this is just an appetizer for what's coming next."
"You and me both," Lanfen quietly remarked, shifting her focus back over to the raging battle before her. "Ayano." She tapped into her headphones with a free hand and faced the floating drone beside her. "Are the scanners picking up anything aside from the Category-1s? Tomosato implied something about this rift being far different than usual."
"Whatever Tomosato told you about this rift, she was most likely right, Jiang," Ayano responded over the comms. "The whole thing is pulsing with a wavelength we've never detected up until now and command hasn't relayed anything back to us about what it could mean. Tachibana and the others are also encountering this same type of rift in their zones, so-" There was a sudden pause in her words. And when the field operator spoke up again, the unease in Ayano's voice had transitioned into that of outright concern. "Wait... We're detecting an additional energy signature? Matching it with the database and... Jiang!" she exclaimed. "Scanners are picking up a single Caster-type that's on its way! It's a Category-3 Distortion!"
Curling her fingers around the grip of her Armed Gear, Lanfen felt the proverbial fires flicker within her eyes while Captain Yaiba tapped into their headgear's own built-in communicators. "Affirmative," Lanfen said, bringing her free hand away from her headphones. It was only a matter of time before the enemy finally employed their next tier of Distortions, and unlike the crowned warrior's first encounter with the Category-2s, Lanfen was more wary than eager about facing the highest of the Distortions' documented categories. "Captain Yaiba," Lanfen addressed the Field Captain once they were seemingly done with their transmission. "I take it that you've received the good news, too?"
"Just another day on the job, isn't it?" Captain Yaiba responded to the woman's sarcasm with their own dry wit. "Normally, we'd leave the higher-level creatures to you Symphogear-Wielders, but with our new walkers on the field, I'd suggest you that hang back and let their guns soften up the damn thing before you go rushing in with that sword of yours." Tapping into their arm-bracer's digital pad again, the Captain swiftly relayed the incoming arrival of a Category-3 to the rest of their forces. "Are you fine with this plan, SG-r04?"
Lanfen answered with a sharp nod before drawing her stowed weapon from her hip armour. Unsure of what she should expect from a Distortion of the highest Category, the Sword of Damocles released its blade from its golden cross-guard, letting the Adaptor rest the thick length of metal on a pauldron-covered shoulder. "I've no complaints," Lanfen told them, having wizened up by now after one too many frustrating battles against the Category-2s.
While Lanfen and Captain Yaiba awaited the arrival of the Category-3, the barrage of precise rifle fire and unrelenting hails of lead from Harmony's combat walkers refused to falter in the face of the descending Category-1s. Whenever the walking tanks' rotary guns ran dry of ammunition, the walkers would immediately lower their armoured cabins to the ground with their articulated legs, signaling a combat engineer to sprint over with a fresh crate of ammunition in their arms. Considering the fact that they were no more than just regular people beneath their advanced body armour, the unbreakable calm in which these soldiers carried out their duty was admittedly admirable. It made Lanfen wonder if her parents once carried out their own duties to S.O.N.G. with the same level of tranquility.
As pinpoint gunfire reduced a charging knight to nothing more than a cloud of black sand, what appeared to be the last of the arriving Category-1 Distortions joined its fellow automata on the forest glade, adding to the immense heaps of ebony grains that had accumulated on top of the white, casing-ridden snow. At least four Distortions had managed to brave the incoming barrage and breach the tree-line, but none of them were even able to lift their weapons before they too were torn apart by disciplined volleys of rifle fire. Lanfen gladly would have taken out the few who had managed to threaten Harmony's soldiers, but Captain Yaiba insisted with a wordless gesture that she best save her energy for the Category-3.
The communicator within Lanfen's headphones reactivated. "Category-3 detected." It was Ayano again. "It's making its way through the rift." The dread in her declaration was almost palpable.
Violent streaks of lightning crackled around the immense tear in reality. Accompanied by the deep thrumming of booming thunderclaps, Lanfen could see the awaiting soldiers around the forest discarding spent magazines, readying their ballistic armaments with fresh ones for their first ever encounter with a Category-3. Whether or not their weapons would even pose a threat to the Distortion, the crowned warrior could not say, but their commitment to the defense was never unappreciated. Maintaining a steady grip around the Sword of Damocles' golden handle, Lanfen peered through the gaps of the forest canopy, and spotted a single, armoured figure that was slowly descending from the rift in the winter skies.
"Fire on my command," Captain Yaiba ordered into their helmet's communicators. "We can't afford to let this thing reach the city."
The camera drone next to Lanfen floated through the branches above them and focused its high-powered lenses on the arriving Distortion. To an uninformed perspective, one could initially mistake the Category-3's shining, golden armour for an angel who had fallen from the heavens. Especially upon seeing the extravagant, glowing runes which marked its entire frame from head-to-toe. Unlike the lower Categories of its Type, the Distortion visibly renounced the distinctive robes that were often donned by the other Caster-Types, replaced by an extravagant, crimson cape which trailed down from its back to flutter in the winter winds. When the Distortion gracefully - and soundlessly - greeted the forest floor with its metallic heels, its glowing helmet's visor scanned its surroundings, seemingly acknowledging the mustered forces surrounding its presence.
Lanfen's twitching sword-hand desired nothing more than to cut down the creature where it stood.
"Open fire!"
A dozen muzzle flashes blossomed across the snowy forest before Lanfen even heard the ensuing barks of blazing gunfire. Rotary guns built-into the armoured cabins of Harmony's combat walkers whirred nonstop while bullet-after-bullet vomited from their spinning barrels, hosing the arriving Category-3 in a combined hail of lead which Lanfen could only watch on with her sword's blade on her shoulder. Bullet casings spat repeatedly from the clacking ejectors of countless weapons - but as impressive as it looked - the Adaptor knew deep within her that it wasn't going to even register on what vaguely passed for a Distortion's consciousness.
"Jiang, look!" Godai suddenly exclaimed over the comms.
Narrowing her vision on the unmoving Category-3, Lanfen gritted her teeth upon noticing the abysmal results of Harmony's attempted barrage. Surrounding the Distortion was something which the Adaptor could only describe as a fog-like 'barrier'. While gun barrels across the forest relented in their futile attacks, the Category-3 remained where it stood, its golden form wreathed in smoking tendrils that effortlessly reduced a million incoming projectiles into bits of harmless carbon upon impact. The Distortion gave the soldiers the privilege of resuming their ineffective attack for several seconds before it inevitably lifted its rune-marked arms from its sides, and weaved a series of summoning gestures through the air.
"Captain Yaiba," Lanfen warned them, taking a single step forward with the Sword of Damocles in her right hand. "Please, pull back your forces."
The Captain was obviously all too aware by now of where the situation was leading. As Captain Yaiba motioned for the digital pad on their arm-bracer, flashes of emerald light burst into view one-by-one around the lone Category-3, causing the hairs on the back of Lanfen's neck to stand upright.
Conjured through the Distortion's illusive hand movements, funnel-shaped objects materialized into existence out of emerald particles before solidifying into metallic objects which possessed the same glimmering colour of their conjurer. These small, unusual manifestations would then zip through the air, flying at speeds that allowed them to dodge the incoming hail of bullets with ease. By the time Captain Yaiba managed to send out the signal to fall back, ominous lights could be seen growing within the pointed tips of the Distortion's flying funnels.
If it wasn't for the enhanced reflexes provided by Lanfen's Symphogear, the Adaptor wouldn't have been able to even process the next few seconds.
Bright, narrow particle beams spewed forth from the Distortion's floating conjurations and began melting apart Captain Yaiba's forces with the emotionless precision of a surgical knife. Like flocks of sparrows, the funnels would soar between the tree branches before suddenly halting to project superheated beams from their glowing tips. The advanced body armour worn by the Captain's soldiers did nothing to prevent the incoming blasts from reducing bewildered troops left and right into bits of black ash. In response to the evisceration of their foot soldiers, Harmony's bipedal walkers desperately attempted to ground the flying conjurations with their rotary guns, but the floating weapons were quick to aim their barrels at the legged machines.
Their hissing beams sliced right through their armoured cabins, disintegrating the combat walkers - and the screaming pilots within them - as though they were nothing more than burning tissue paper. The forest floor practically shook beneath their metal feet when the glowing-hot machines subsequently collapsed beneath the weight of their own flaming cockpits.
"Pull your forces back immediately!" Lanfen demanded, deflecting the incoming beams away from both her and the Captain with the thick blade of her Armed Gear. The unbearable stench of vaporized flesh was starting to clog her nostrils.
Needing no words to justify a tactical retreat, Captain Yaiba stayed behind the Adaptor, hailed for the carriers waiting outside the forest, and began withdrawing what few remained of their decimated forces in the direction of Yamaku City. Lanfen covered their retreat with gritted teeth, swatting aside countless beams of super-heated particles with the Sword of Damocles as battered soldiers navigated their way through the smouldering wreckage of the fallen combat walkers. Another swift order from the Captain commanded the troops to throw down canisters of blinding smoke behind them, granting the troops additional cover from the funnels which were swooping between the branches.
"Godai, Ayano, follow the Captain back to the city's borders!" A jade beam darted past Lanfen's head, transforming the camera drone behind her into a black stain on the snowy ground. "And look up anything we know that could help me get past the Distortion's barrier!"
In contrast to the Adaptor's desperate measures to defend her retreating comrades, the Category-3 remained where it stood, as if it were taking in the destruction its conjurations were weaving across the woods. Clicking her tongue at the sheer audacity of the battle automata, Lanfen took in a full 360 degrees view of her smoke-covered surroundings, realized that the last of Harmony's forces had finally pulled away, and immediately commanded her Symphogear to finally blare its electro-swing jazz tune. The song in Lanfen's beating heart refused to let the Distortion resume its carnage.
"I don't know who I am and that's okay, but what's going to happen today?" Lanfen raced out of the blinding smoke-screen around her and stared down the glowing tips of a dozen floating funnels. "My brain burns like it'll explode, begging for it to not implode."
Black-and-white flashed before the Adaptor's eyes. The steel letters in her vision slammed onto a cracking chessboard, declaring, "Rook Reflector."
Metallic spikes erupted from the back of Lanfen's armoured boots to stab into the forest floor. Jade particle beams bolted towards the Adaptor from every possible direction. Glowing panels sprung open on the sides of Lanfen's thigh armour. Crossing her gauntleted arms over her chest, Lanfen narrowed her eyes as a translucent, dome-shaped force-field solidified around her form, causing the searing beams to crash into it before harmlessly dispersing themselves with a skin-crawling screech that was blocked out by her protective headphones.
"Jiang!" Ayano hailed her over the comms. "Records on the Category-3 Caster state that its barrier only activates against high-velocity objects! If you want to get past that shield, you're going to have to hit it at just the right speed!"
Godai quickly followed the field operator up with her own comment. "It ain't going to be easy, but it's the only way you're gettin' pass that damn barrier!"
The funnel swarm relented in their barrage of super-heated particle beams, fueling the crowned warrior's absorbing barrier with each jade projectile which crashed against it. "Can I fly before rolling out the die?" With a single mental command, Lanfen shattered the dome-shaped force-field, turning it into an outwards wave of stunning energy that sent the funnels around her spiraling out of the air before they were pulled to the earth by the simple rule of gravity. "Am I allowed to cry before I finally try?" The hydraulic stakes within her boots retracted into their sheathes. The panels on her thighs snapped closed.
Rhythmic piano tunes rang in the air and black-and-white flashed before her eyes. Another name appeared before her, spelled out by steel letters which now declared the name, "Bishop Barrage."
The rushing beats of stick slamming onto drums mimicked the Adaptor's pounding heart. "My brain is on fire, I'll never understand." With the funnels lying paralyzed in the snow, Lanfen brandished the Sword of Damocles, its thick blade now glowing with crimson markings that flashed across its metallic length. "I'm going to tire, blazed from every demand." The Category-3 still refused to even move a finger. And that was fine by Lanfen. Swinging her Armed Gear in a wide arc, the Adaptor manifested a dozen floating, glowing replicas of her sword at her sides. A subsequent flick of her wrist sent the energy blades soaring towards the unmoving Distortion, its cape fluttering weakly behind it.
The golden knight sliced a rune-marked forearm through the cold air, summoning another swarm of funnels around it before its new conjurations began zapping away at the incoming swords.
"To breathe clean air above the depths." Lanfen's armoured boots stomped across the forest glade to meet with the Distortion head-on. "All I have to do is climb the steps!" Jade beams lanced towards the crowned warrior and harmlessly bounced off the soaring swords around her. Protected by her dwindling number of translucent, sentient blades, Lanfen fastened her grip around the Sword of Damocles, launched herself into the air with the sun facing her back, and thrusted straight towards the Distortion's fog-covered chest-plate.
The Adaptor's thick blade struck nothing more than an after-image of a combatant who had disappeared faster than she could even process it.
Drawing in a sharp breath, Lanfen's instincts sensed the presence of her opponent behind her, telling her just where the Category-3 was right as two jade beams directly crashed into her exposed back. The subsequent cry of pain which escaped Lanfen was drowned out by the glass-like cracking of her Symphogear's protective barriers. Warning systems within her paranormal armour blared in reaction to the particle beams' searing heat. Pain suppression systems kicked, minimizing a blinding pain that would have knocked a regular person unconscious in an instant. All of which were immediately transmitted back to the operators who were monitoring her now-muted Symphogear's vitality monitors.
"We've lost visual of incursion zone 02 and zone 04."
"Harmony Squadrons J-15A and J-15B are withdrawing into Yamaku City!"
"Symphogear Team-03 have just engaged with the Armour-Type Category-3."
Bridge operators declared their endless reports within the command center of the S.O.N.G. submarine as Commander Genjuuro stood at his post with arms crossed over his chest, calmly taking in every single bit of information they were receiving. The Distortions have finally deployed their line of Category-3s, and just like their decrypted information predicted, these specialized battle automata were formidable opponents for even the Symphogear-Wielders. Displayed on the bridge's three large monitors screens were numerous visual-feeds originating from both local CCTV and deployed camera drones, granting the bridge a clear on-the-ground look of the situations in Japan, Sydney, New York, and London.
"Tomosato," Commander Genjuuro firmly addressed one of his most trusted operators. "Give me a status report on our Wielders."
Sitting down at her shared station next to Professor Elfnein, Tomosato's hands inputted multiple commands into her terminal before she fulfilled the Commander's orders. "Chris and Hibiki have just eliminated the Armour-Type Category-3. Damage to local infrastructure is severe, but casualties are low. Maria and Tsubasa are currently pursuing a retreating Blade-Type Category-3 into the Buckingham Palace, while Kirika and Shirabe are luring an Armour-Type Category-3 away from civilian sectors." The bridge operator drew in an uneasy breath. "Lanfen is currently engaging the Caster-Type Category-3, but our sensors report accumulating damage to her systems, Commander. At this rate, she'll..."
None of the feeds they were getting from Yamaku City gave them a direct visual of the attacking Distortion nor Lanfen, only images of Harmony squadrons who were currently attempting to regroup their battered forces into a coherent defense line on the borders of the city. The only thing that granted them insights on the ongoing battle were the monitoring systems which kept an eye on the Wielders' Aufwachen waveforms, the physical status of their Symphogears, and their Phonic Gain emission levels. With each tense second that zipped by, multiple reports of barrier failures and internal damage arose from the SG-r04's data-feed, painting a dire picture of Lanfen's lone battle against the Caster-Type Distortion.
"Things aren't looking good out there for Lanfen, Commander," Fujitaka grimly remarked, fingers still swiftly typing away on his computer terminal. "We're going to have to redeploy either Hibiki or Chris to her location if we want to take out that Distortion. There's no way she'll be able to eliminate it by herself in her current state."
Commander Genjuuro furrowed his red brows with a grimace. "We can't displace our Adaptor teams without the council's input, Fujitaka," he reminded the operator, right as another damage indicator arose within the SG-r04's monitoring systems. A harsh curse subsequently escaped the Commander as the large man panned his gaze across the upper bridge, and noticed the obvious concerns on Fujitaka, Tomosato, and Professor Elfnein's faces. It was enough for him to consider going against standard procedures. But as soon as the Commander began analyzing his next course of action, an incoming transmission flashed over the central monitor screen, blocking out one-third of their visual feeds.
It was the spokesperson of the United Nations.
A swift hand signal from the Commander gave Tomosato the clearance to connect the lines. Despite the current situation, the Spokesperson addressed the bridge with their usual polite tone. "The council has a request, Commander Kazanari. One which they've been meaning to inquire about for some time now."
The Commander didn't care to put on the filter that he often utilized whenever he had to deal with the council directly. "We can address that request when we're not in the middle of an operation, Spokesperson!" Genjuuro exclaimed, his hands tightening into fists at his sides. The nerves on their backs were practically about to burst. "The Adaptor Corps is currently facing the toughest Distortions we've seen so far, so now is not the time to be dealing with their concerns!"
"As unusual as it may sound, there is no better opportunity than this, Commander Kazanari," the Spokesperson elegantly argued. "The council has just received reports from Harmony's forces in Japan, and in response to the arrival of the Category-3s, they would like to request a demonstration of the SG-r04's true power. Not only as proof of its capabilities, but to also act as a reminder to all of S.O.N.G. of the circumstances in which you operate under." The implication of their statement drew a single bead of sweat on Genjuuro's face. Professor Elfnein and the two main bridge operators also visibly froze in their seats. "They are requesting that Cassandra Jiang Lanfen utilize the S.W.O.R.D. against the Category-3 Distortion."
Commander Genjuuro slammed his large hands onto the surface of his personal terminal. Fujitaka and Tomosato both went deathly silent. But Professor Elfnein wasn't afraid to voice her own opinion on the matter.
Rising from her shared station, the Professor visibly gulped before addressing their superior. "Spokesperson, the S.W.O.R.D. is an armament I've designed to only be used in the most dire of situations," she retorted, hands gripping on to the length of her white lab-coat. "While I understand the council's intentions, we cannot justify simply utilizing the S.W.O.R.D. against the Distortions without even addressing the Wielder who possesses it! If you wish to stabilize the situation in Japan before any lives are lost, then we only need to redeploy Symphogear Team-01 to Miss Cassandra's location as soon as possible."
"Your opinion is noted, Professor Elfnein," the Spokesperson politely replied. "But while I personally share your hesitations, this request from the council is made in the best interest of our world's safety first and foremost. Just like every other decision that they have made in order to counter the Distortions and their endless waves of battle automata." Genjuuro could actually tell that they were speaking the truth when it came to their skepticisms with the order, but absolutely nobody on the bridge crew was convinced that this was their best course of action anyway. "We will be compensating for any damages that come as a result of this decision, Commander Kazanari. I will make sure of that."
With that statement declared, the transmission line closed up from the Spokesperson's end, prompting the symbol of the United Nations to finally vanish from the central monitor screen.
The Professor and two of Genjuuro's most reliable operators all turned to him while the large man stood at his terminal with an expression that did not hide any of the resentment he held towards the council. Fujitaka was about to remark on the situation, but a discouraging shake of the head from Tomosato held back her colleague's words. Professor Elfnein did not choose to speak, but the wordless look she gave to the Commander assured him that whatever order he was about to give next, it was one which all of them were going to go with, regardless of the consequences awaiting them on the other side.
What was supposedly a 'fight' had now become a struggle to simply survive. Ignoring the insistent blaring of her Symphogear's internal alarms, Lanfen placed all her bets on the pain-suppression systems to block out the undeniable agony which arose from the giant burn mark on her back. A reasonable person would have chosen to retreat in the direction of Task Force Harmony's newest defense line, but Lanfen never considered herself as such to begin with as the crowned warrior dashed across the forest floor in an adrenaline-fueled sprint. Jade beams persistently harried the Adaptor, turning the snow beneath her armoured boots into clouds of hot steam with each shot that grazed past Lanfen's body.
Luring the Category-3 away from the city was her lone objective.
Everything which came after it was essentially made up on the spot.
"Can I light my flame without burning my eyes?" Particle beams lanced past her head and melted into the thick tree trunks ahead of her. "Will I be able to see past all the filthy lies?" Skidding into a screeching halt, Lanfen swung the Sword of Damocles behind her, deflecting the super-heated beams back into the very funnels that launched them. As the flying conjurations disintegrated into bits of emerald light, the crowned warrior spotted the Distortion slowly following her in an uncaring advance, its rune-marked forearms gently weaving through the air to bring forth more of its arcane objects.
Black-and-white flashed in her burning eyes. The steel letters slammed onto the cracking chessboard. "Queen Quicksilver."
"No idea where to look without being blinded." Armour slid forth from her headphones' casings, forming a sleek mask over her face with a large pair of circular, compound eyes. "From the burns you all have provided." Her face-shield docked itself with her three-point crown and the Queen chess-piece pauldron on her right shoulder thrummed with life, sending a wave of revitalizing energy throughout Lanfen's aching body.
Mists of hot steam froze in place. The swooping funnels decelerated into a sluggish pace. As the monochrome Wielder transformed into a proverbial lord of speed, Lanfen's white mask projected a holographic timer in the corner of her narrowed eyes.
Ten seconds.
The soles of her armoured boots pounded the snow beneath them, kicking up flying chunks of white while her fingers tightened their grip around the Sword of Damocles. Lanfen had played her trump card and it was time to make it count in the span of ten expansive seconds. Focusing her vision on the Distortion's slowed-down conjurations, Lanfen blitzed between the burning trees, splitting apart the obstinate funnels around her into floating halves with each precise swing of her Armed Gear. It didn't matter that the Distortion could summon more of them. Only that its magical offenses remained eliminated.
Eight seconds.
The black-and-white Wielder made a bee-line for the frozen Category-3. It had barely lifted its right foot from the forest floor when Lanfen achieved super-human speeds, and by the time she was right in front of its golden form, the Distortion's moving boot was just about to plant itself on the snowy ground again. The compound lenses of Lanfen's mask flashed a deep crimson as the crowned warrior brandished her Armed Gear and began battering its thick blade against the Distortion's fog-like barrier. Inert, smoking tendrils deflected blow after blow. Strike after strike. Thrust after thrust.
Four seconds.
Unfazed by the Adaptor's attempts to shatter the mystic shield through sheer brute force, the Distortion's rune-marked forearms slowly sliced through the air undisturbed, bringing forth emerald lights around it to conjure another swarm of its funnels. But Lanfen refused to falter. Desperate to find a way through its seemingly unbreakable defenses, Lanfen thrashed against the Category-3's barrier, even while the golden knight's newest conjurations slowly solidified into a dozen funnels around them. The fastest, shortest route was always a straight line. Such were the words often boasted by Lanfen's fellow Symphogear-Wielders.
Zero seconds.
Wisps of evaporated snow continued to dance in the winter air. Golden funnels flew amongst the branches at blinding speeds. The loud humming from Lanfen's shoulder pauldron turned silent and her armoured faceplate slid back into her headphones. Tightening her lips to hold back the tide of blood which threatened to spill out from her mouth, the crowned warrior retreated with a backwards leap, only for the Distortion's hand to suddenly thrust towards her, and imprison her throat within its rune-marked fingertips. Lanfen choked on her own tasteless ichor as the Category-3 effortlessly lifted her agony-ridden body above the ground, its metal fingers tightening around her throat, completely sealing away her power-infused lyrics.
Whatever strength Lanfen had left in her could only be spent to keep the Sword of Damocles within her weakening grasp. Blood was trailing down the corners of her mouth and the Wielder could feel the waves of pain around her body rising into a morbid crescendo. With her Phonic Gain emission cut off, the Distortion's funnels took positions at the Category-3's sides before reorienting their glowing tips right at the hissing crowned warrior. Lanfen could only scowl at the sight of its newest conjurations. Even though the Distortion had her contained within the literal palm of its hand, it didn't stop Lanfen from hurling a glob of blood and saliva at its faceplate, staining its glowing visor with a harmless but spiteful projectile.
Jade beams launched from the tips of its funnels.
The Distortion's fingers released the Adaptor's imprisoned neck, allowing the super-heated projectiles to send Lanfen flying across the forest floor while a dozen particle beams collided with her abdomen as a concentrated barrage of blinding light. She didn't have the energy to even cry out in pain as alarms blared in her ears, pointlessly alerting her to a severe breach within her protective barriers. The next thing Lanfen felt was the sensation of her back crashing back into the snowy earth, creating a small crater beneath her lying body. The Sword of Damocles had slipped from her grasp and the barriers of her armour howled relentlessly to regain their integrity. For just a single second, she felt as though all control of her limbs had been disconnected from her mind.
Trails of smoke billowed from the bruised micro-fibers of Lanfen's Symphogear. Sparks erupted from her cracked gauntlets and armoured boots. Drawing the cold air into her broken lungs, Lanfen wordlessly screamed at her aching limbs to move while the Distortion's funnels soared above her, and took aim for one last volley. The Distortion didn't even bother to stay for what was about to happen next. Having seemingly lost interest in the battered crowned warrior, the Category-3 turned on its golden heel, ran a rune-marked forearm through its lavish cape, and began marching in the direction of Harmony's defensive line, leaving its conjurations to finish the job while it resumed on its original path.
"Jiang!" Ayano screamed at the Adaptor over the comms. "I'm sending Yuki over to help! She'll be there in-!"
"S-Stay with the C-Captain," Lanfen practically pleaded, lifting a heavy forearm off the snow-covered earth. The Sword of Damocles laid next to her, mere centimeters away from her aching sword-hand. Desperate to even brush against its handle with her weakened fingertips, Lanfen glared at the floating funnels above her, and drew in a sharp breath at the sight of their glowing tips.
A burst of static poured forth from her communicators.
Bolts of azure, eldritch flames sung through the winter air and vaporized every single one of the glowing conjurations in a precise, soundless volley.
Unable to comprehend what had even just happened, Lanfen's purple eyes watched as what remained of the disintegrated funnels were scattered across the winter winds in the form of emerald particles. The Distortion's weapons were gone, but her heart continued pounding against her ribcage, still waiting for the grip of death to finally wrap itself around it. With her limbs still refusing to do more than simply twitch in pain, Lanfen turned her head towards the source of the mysterious projectiles, and subsequently widened her eyes when the crowned warrior's gaze fell upon a familiar figure.
Dressed in an azure, diamond-patterned suit which matched the colour of her neat and trim hair, the Adaptor's sudden saviour strolled across the forest floor with gloved hands on her hips, and an amused smile on her pale-white face. Golden eyes gazed at Lanfen's pain-ridden body as though the figure had just encountered an injured animal deep within Yamaku's forests. The loud crunching of her pronounced footfalls were the only thing entering Lanfen's ears outside of her headphones' static-riddled communicators. It was her. The very woman who had bestowed Lanfen with the Sword of Damocles. She was real.
Lanfen forced herself to speak, but she couldn't utter anything outside of an incoherent string of pained grunts.
"You poor thing," the pale woman cooed, brushing a gloved finger against her blue lips. "It's been a while, hasn't it, my little Valkyrie?" Letting loose a light chuckle at the sight of the severe burn marks which dotted the Adaptor's battered armour, the nameless woman proceeded to kneel down next to Lanfen before producing a familiar, glass vial from the inner pockets of her suit. She smiled at the gaze of recognition that drew itself across Lanfen's face and opened the item with a soft pop. "You can't let your performance end here now, can you?" she inquired with a honeyed voice, carefully holding the vial of blue liquid to the injured woman's mouth.
Remembering the favourable results of her first experience with this strange liquid, Lanfen hesitantly permitted the entrance of the vial's contents into her throat, letting it smoothly wash down her numb windpipe.
The icy-blue liquid was cold. Colder than anything Lanfen had poured into her system. Within seconds, a sharp stinging sensation arose within several points of her body, causing Lanfen to rake the snow beneath her fingers. The pale woman wordlessly watched on while the Wielder's limbs slowly regained their vitality. Once the emptied vial had been placed back inside her pockets, Lanfen drew in another pained breath before blinking at the sudden vanishing of the agony within her body. Slowly, she pulled herself back up into a sitting position, and stared into her shaking palms. The internal systems of her Symphogear dutifully notified her that all of her internal injuries and third-degree burns were now completely healed.
"... Why?" Lanfen whispered, swinging a pair of narrowed eyes over to the smiling stranger. "Why... are you helping me?" The ghostly woman responded with a light, honest chuckle. "Just who are you...?!"
Getting up from her knees, the pale woman looked around their silent surroundings, taking in the sight of the burning trees around them. "I can't let you - of all people - die so soon," she simply answered, stroking her chin with a gloved hand. When Lanfen rose up from the snow to throw her another firm question, the nameless stranger placed a fingertip in front of her own blue lips and shot Lanfen a dramatic hush. "Who I am is not important," she insisted with a voice dripping with honey. "What matters right now is your battle against that awful monster. After all, if you cannot strike down such an opponent..." Her fingers motioned over to the Adaptor, pointing right at her Symphogear's crimson converter unit. "... You wouldn't be able to avenge your dear sister now, would you?"
Lanfen flinched at the sudden mention of her sibling, causing the pale woman to smile almost sympathetically at the sight of the Wielder's shivering shoulders.
"Hold nothing back if you truly wish to avenge her, my little Valkyrie," the nameless woman whispered, stroking Lanfen's bloodstained cheeks with the back of a gloved hand. "There is absolutely no room for hesitation on the battlefield." Withdrawing her arm without another word, the pale lady shot the speechless Adaptor another playful smile before taking a pronounced step behind Lanfen. And right as the crowned warrior spun around to desperately seize her by the shoulder, she was gone.
No trace of the woman's existence remained where Lanfen stood. Not even simple footprints in the snow-covered ground. Lanfen was completely and absolutely all by herself.
Echoes of disciplined gunfire arose within the distance, reminding Lanfen of a situation which had yet to be concluded. Wiping away the dried blood that stained the corners of her mouth, the crowned warrior looked over to the Sword of Damocles, and pursed her cracked lips as December snow buried the Armed Gear in apathetic white. She could feel the proverbial fires flickering within her eyes. Fires which had been reignited by the words of the ghostly woman who had saved her life for the second time ever. Lanfen could not deny the advice she had gifted her. Attempting to do so only wracked her brain with a persistent cloud of frustration.
The communicators within her headphones subsequently cleared up, relieved of the distorted static that had been plaguing them for several minutes now.
Lifting a hand to her reawakened communicators, Lanfen noticed an incoming transmission directly from the S.O.N.G. submarine and quickly answered it. She did not know where to even begin with what had just occurred. "This is... SG-r04," Lanfen murmured. "Reporting in."
"Lanfen!" The loud voice which addressed her wasn't Fujitaka nor Tomosato's. It was Commander Genjuuro himself who had contacted her. "Are you alright?! Our monitoring systems report that your vitals are now in the green. What's the status of your situation?!"
Parting her lips to answer the Commander's request, the image of the pale woman momentarily flashed before Lanfen's eyes, sending a cold shiver down her recovered spine. As the echoes of distant rifle fire slowly waned, Lanfen took a few steps towards her Armed Gear, and knelt down next to the buried weapon. "I'm currently in... Zone Y3A," she declared, following standard procedures. If there was a time to give an update on the person who had stolen the SG-r04, it was going to have to happen after the Category-3 was eliminated. "I'm fine... I've sustained a bit of damage, but I should be able to re-engage the Distortion, Commander. What are my orders?"
While the Commander sounded utterly relieved by Lanfen's status, the tone of his voice betrayed the concerns still lingering within him. "The Category-3 is approaching the city. Harmony's defense lines are barely holding it back and we need you to reinforce them as soon as you can. But-" Silence. Such a thing was rare from Commander Genjuuro. The abrupt moment of hesitation made Lanfen inadvertently gulp while she motioned to pick up her Armed Gear. "... Due to the severity of the situation, the council has requested the utilization of the S.W.O.R.D."
The woman's fingertips froze right as they were about to grasp the handle of the Sword of Damocles.
The shaky breath which escaped Lanfen was visible in the cold, winter air. As the Commander's grim words settled themselves within the shifting gears of her mind, Lanfen's eyes gazed down at her chest, focusing themselves on the glimmering converter unit beneath her collarbone. There were so many words that Lanfen wished to utter in response to Commander Genjuuro's statement, but the crowned warrior couldn't bear to let out even a single, pathetic syllable. Her throat may have healed to a perfect condition, but that didn't prevent her voice from lodging itself within her windpipe.
"I'm only giving this order for the sake of your survival, Lanfen," the Commander ruefully assured her. "The Category-3 must be stopped. But I can't risk letting you face such an opponent without even the smallest chance of victory." The tone in his voice. It sounded so much like Lanfen's father all those years ago. She was honestly surprised to even remember such a small, insignificant thing. "Lanfen," Commander Genjuuro repeated, lowering his voice ever so slightly. "Do you understand me?"
The pale woman's words echoed within Lanfen's mind, untangling her thoughts with one swift sentence.
"There is absolutely no room for hesitation on the battlefield."
Lanfen bit down on her cracking lips until she drew fresh blood. Curling her fingers around the golden handle of her half-buried weapon, the black-and-white Wielder patted the snow off its thick blade, rose up from the forest floor, and turned in the direction of Harmony's defensive line. If the defeat of the Distortions required her to draw the S.W.O.R.D., then so be it, Lanfen thought to herself. It was against an enemy, and not the allies it had been originally designed to put down. Lanfen had played all of her available cards against the Category-3, and all it led to was her lying in front of death's door as a result of her attempted bravado. She would be dead by now if it wasn't for the pale woman's miraculous intervention.
"Affirmative." Whether those words were directed at the Commander's orders - or the ghostly lady's advice - she also could not tell. But her answer was heard regardless as the audio transmission switched off from the Commander's side of the line.
Moving in accordance to the knowledge that her Symphogear bestowed upon her mind, Lanfen's sword-hand ached while it hovered towards the converter unit situated on her chest. With a soft click, the Adaptor removed the ruby-like device, causing her Armed Gear to automatically reveal a glowing, crimson slot right in the middle of its golden cross-guard. Her sword was reacting to her will and it awaited the next final steps with silent diligence. Inserting the detached unit into the empty slot, Lanfen clicked the unit into place before staring apathetically at the curved, silver trigger which then slid out of the weapon's handle, ready to be activated by the crowned warrior's very own hand.
The proverbial fires within Lanfen's eyes burned brighter than ever before.
A command word situated itself on the tip of her tongue, ready to awaken the slumbering Sword of Damocles.
"Fall."