Sympho-Saber: Song of Swords
RXU:EP01 – Homecoming, a New Megid?!
It had taken a good few days for Genjuro to get everything in order for an explanation on what had happened with the prior incidents of the Phantom Megid as well as Touma's disappearance. It had also been spent informing their main technology experts of what was going on, both Elfnein and Daishinji going through the required files alongside Sophia.
Of course, getting SONG's other Commander and their technology experts up to speed weren't the only things that kept the meeting from taking place immediately. One of the deciding factors was fitting it into Tsubasa's schedule so that Maria, Ogawa, and her could join in via video call. While they weren't to be deployed due to being across the world, Genjuro at least needed to make sure the three were informed in case they were somehow needed back sooner than later.
Of course Miku and Daishinji were absent with the official reason being that they were running an important errand. Daishinji insisted that he'd handle giving Miku the explanation himself and made sure to leave Elfnein the proper notes on his discoveries regarding their current situation. The real reason the two were missing however was because that they were focusing on Miku's own training to become Espada, Daishinji having wanted to get started as soon as possible.
The main bridge of SONG's mobile headquarters was filled up as much as it could be as the main operators, commander, Elfnein and their available Riders and Wielders were all accounted for. On the main monitor through video call were Tsubasa, Maria and Ogawa.
"Alright, we're all here," Chris said as she tapped her foot a bit, "So can we please get something now?"
"I am most curious as to what exactly we're being informed of," Tsubasa admitted as Maria gave a nod, "Especially given you needed to us to sit in as well. Not that I mind of course."
"Though this isn't exactly the kind of video call I was hoping to make," Maria added.
"Apologies," Sophia said, "But this is rather important."
"So… we'll be able to understand all this," Kirika spoke up, "Right, dess?"
"Yes, there's no need to worry," Genjuro replied, "Elfnein will explain what she can."
"There were two incidents a couple of days back that occurred around the same time," Elfnein explained as she currently had a stack of papers with her to help organize her thoughts, of course as she continued an image of the Phantom Megid was shown on screen, "Hibiki, Rintaro and the Commander all encountered a strange inverted Megid which we are now labeling as a Phantom Megid."
"So Storious has already started a new plan," Maria mused.
"Not exactly," Genjuro replied, "This isn't the first time we've encountered a Phantom Megid."
"What do you mean?" Tsubasa asked, "Shindo, Daishinji, and I have been around the longest and we have yet to report any type of enemy like that."
"Because you all weren't the ones that fought it," Kanade replied.
"What do you mean Kanade?" Tsubasa asked.
"That's uh, for later," Kanade waved the question off much to the sword wielder's displeasure, "We've still got some stuff to get through."
"The Phantom Megid leads into the next point," Elfnein spoke up, not wanting to get off track, "It's not a Megid, but rather it's a distortion that crosses worlds and takes the form of one."
"Huh?" Rintaro asked as he tilted his head slightly, "What do you mean?"
"It's definitely related to Touma's disappearance," Elfnein continued, "As Touma didn't disappear but rather a gateway opened up and he was taken to what is classified as a Parallel World."
"Parallel World…?" Hibiki asked.
"There have been theorists who say our world is one of just many different variations across various dimensions in a wider multiverse," Touma explained as he had been reading up a bit due to his sudden experience of journeying to a new world, "Sometimes they're really similar to ours or they might even have drastic changes in history that have altered the very world itself."
"Uh, I think I get it…" Hibiki adopted a thinking pose before tilting her head, "Or maybe I don't…?"
"We're still trying to get the gist of it ourselves," Sophia admitted, "Through further research and usage, we should be able to map out what exactly we're dealing with."
"Usage…?" Chris asked, "What exactly are you using?"
"The relic Gjallarhorn is what was behind Touma's disappearance," Genjuro explained, "And likely connected to the distortion now known as the Phantom Megid due to it acting up whenever one is active"
"It's a complete Relic that can connect to different worlds," Sophia added.
Most of the Riders and Wielders could only stare in silence when they heard this. While some had heard from Touma about his experience, they still weren't expecting a Relic like that to exist.
Shirabe just barely managed to speak up, "It connects our world…"
Kirika interrupted immediately, "…to different worlds, dess?!"
"If I recall there's mention of how it being blown as a horn means it can be heard through all worlds," Touma mused a bit, "Which makes sense given the mythology surrounding it and its connection to objects like Yggdrasil."
"Is there any Relic you know nothing about…?" Chris muttered as she glanced at Touma with a slight deadpan look.
"Can we slow down for one second," Tsubasa finally spoke up, "When exactly did we discover a Relic like that?"
"It was discovered by an excavation team led by Ryoko Sakurai," Genjuro answered, "And it was already active when it was discovered."
"Eh, Ryoko was the one who found it?!" Hibiki asked.
"The existence of Gjallarhorn had been kept classified," Elfnein explained, "And only a select few knew about it. Even Sophia, Daishinji and I had only just read up on it recently."
"Gjallarhorn is a unique, dangerous relic, meaning that it's been experimented on in absolute secrecy," Genjuro added, "Though admittedly this is the first time a distortion has appeared in our world. The other times we were alerted it appeared to have been in a parallel world and not ours."
"Other times…?" Maria muttered.
"I am curious about the existence of parallel worlds," Rintaro admitted as he unintentionally interrupted Maria's thought, "They can be very different but also very similar?"
"I recall there being some research that pointed towards the former from what I read up on," Elfnein admitted, "How there are potentially worlds out there that revolve around a singular 'theme' if you will that could range from something mundane like oranges to something more odd like the concept of New Years."
"…that sounds like something out of a children's television show," Chris remarked as Kirika and Shirabe both nodded.
"I don't know, I could go for a Vacation World right about now," Kanade admitted as she stretched a bit.
"So wait, there could be an entire world that revolves around rice?" Hibiki asked near immediately causing the Riders and Wielders to just stare at her, "What? It's possible, right?"
"Yes," Elfnein giggled at Hibiki's tendency to think of food, "Though the more thought up of type is one that's similar to our own, one that's followed a similar course of history. Despite all that there are certain occurrences unique to that Parallel World. Much like our own world's history, it has continued to flow from ancient times to the modern day. But when the river of history reaches a tipping point, it breaks into several tributaries."
"So the parallel worlds are to be considered those tributaries," Maria mused.
"Correct," Elfnein replied, "They're created from the possibilities that have flowed out of our world."
"A world of possibilities that had been lost from ours…?" Tsubasa mused at this, curious as to what differences could occur.
"So say for example… there could be a world where Hibiki, Tsubasa, and Chris all have twin sisters," Touma spoke up as he mused about the situation, "Right?"
"Whoa, hold up!" Chris called out, "Where the heck did that come from?"
"That sounds like it'd make an interesting story," Rintaro admitted, "Have you thought of writing it?"
"It's an interesting endeavor though I'm unsure if I could do it justice," Touma admitted, "But it's a fun thought, right?"
"It is a curious thought I must admit," Tsubasa agreed.
"Ooh, having a twin sister sounds like it'd be fun," Hibiki admitted.
"I'm not sure if I could handle two dummies at once…" Chris groaned out.
"It's very much a possibility, yes," Elfnein agreed.
"Getting back on track," Genjuro said before clearing his throat, "This case is unprecedented as the Gjallarhorn has now allowed us a proper gateway of sorts to utilize its connection to Parallel Worlds."
"What do you mean?" Chris asked.
"The Book Gate, it's a book that served an unknown purpose back during the days of the Sword of Logos," Elfnein explained as she held the Ride Book up for all to see, "Daishinji's ancestors created it, but he wasn't sure of what it could be used for. At least until it acted as a gateway to allow Touma to cross over into a Parallel World. While we're unsure on the specifics, Gjallarhon must have acted up due to the presence of the Phantom Megid and it activated the Book Gate in response."
"So it's all still theory, huh…" Touma remarked, "Granted, not everything in our world can be given a concrete explanation."
"I'd like to go back to a previous point if we could," Maria spoke up, "You said other times, so this has happened before?"
"Yes, though in those cases nothing drastic occurred and it seemed to be confined into the parallel world itself," Genjuro explained.
"According to our records, there have been two instances when the Gjallarhorn activated in response to a distortion," Elfnein explained before she could go further she saw Kanade hold out her hand, "Oh?"
"I'll take it from here," Kanade said before stepping forward, "The very first issue was resolved by yours truly."
"Wait, Kanade you did?!" Hibiki asked in shock.
"Wait, when was this?" Tsubasa questioned in shock, "I don't remember hearing anything about you doing something like this!"
"Figured you'd react like this," Kanade let out a shrug while smiling.
"Tsubasa calm down," Genjuro said as he raised his voice to take control of the conversation, "Gjallarhorn is a Complete Relic, but it cannot be controlled or meddled with. The fact that the Book Gate was able to sync with it is unprecedented but that's not the point right now. It was decided at the time that allowing our only fully Attuned Wielder to go near something so dangerous and unknown at the time was out of the question."
"They gave me the chance to opt in or not," Kanade added, "The other option was waiting it out but I wanted to test things out so I went in and resolved everything while making it out relatively okay."
"That's true," Touma realized, "If you didn't make it out then you wouldn't have been at the Zwei Wing concert."
"Exactly," Kanade replied, "So there's no need to worry since it's perfectly safe to travel between worlds as Touma and I demonstrated."
"I suppose I must relent then," Tsubasa sighed before pinching the bridge of her nose, "I shouldn't be surprised you were reckless enough to take part in that."
"Of course it was thanks to her we were able to learn more about the Gjallarhorn," Genjuro admitted.
"Hold up, you said there were two occurrences though," Maria reminded everyone, "When was the second one?"
"It was during the Zwei Wing concert incident, when the Nehushtan's activation experiment was taking place," Elfnein answered.
"That's where we got the answer that waiting things out was another option," Genjuro admitted, "Given what was occurring at the time our only option was to wait."
"So unless a Phantom Megid shows up here then we don't need to go, right?" Chris asked.
"I don't know dess," Kirika said, "I kind of like the thought of going to other worlds."
"It sounds like a once in a lifetime deal," Shirabe admitted, "Except it's likely to be multiple times for our group."
"I still kind of want to know if there's a Rice World," Hibiki admitted as well.
"Normally I'd say yes to Chris' question…" Genjuro trailed off before continuing, "But given the higher ups are curious about it, we're likely to have to send people through it to gather more data."
"We can at least confirm based on prior data and what just happened, that the only ones who can travel through the Gjallarhorn are Riders and Wielders," Elfnein replied, "Any attempts at sending anyone else through resulted in nothing happening. And while potentially using the Book Gate as a proxy is an idea… it's likely to only to help stabilize the dimensional jump and thus only Riders and Wielders can make use of it."
"I am curious as to why only Riders and Wielders," Ogawa admitted curiously.
"It is thought that the Gjallarhorn only selects powerful enough individuals to travel through," Elfnein hypothesized, "Though of course there's also the potential of it also allowing only those who possess Relic's through. And given the Ride Books and Symphogears are Relics…"
"That would make sense," Rintaro nodded.
"So when do we get started, dess?" Kirika asked.
"For now we just needed to inform you all of what was going on," Genjuro replied, "We'll sort out expeditions and responses to the Relic's activation in due time."
"I suppose this has been enlightening," Tsubasa admitted, "Do not hesitate to call us over however should the situation escalate."
"Of course," Genjuro replied, "But please don't worry about needing to deploy over here, we'll try and handle it as best we can."
"Right, if anything else comes up please let us know." Maria said as Ogawa went to cut off the video call.
"And with that I'd like to say our impromptu meeting is concluded," Genjuro clasped his hands, "You're all free to go."
"Just how late is it anyway?" Chris asked as she gave a stretch, "I mean I know we can sleep in but still."
"I'm sure it isn't that… late…" Touma trailed off as he looked at the time before giving a gasp, "Ah it is kind of late and I need to make sure the store is all spruced up for mom tomorrow!"
"Another one of your parents is visiting already?" Chris asked.
"Yep," Hibiki said, "Touma and I are meeting her at the airport tomorrow."
"Ah that's right you did say she'd be coming tomorrow," Genjuro realized.
"I'd like to apologize for the poor timing of the meeting," Sophia said, "Though it was only now that we were able to get everything in order."
"Its fine," Touma admitted, "Though I'll probably have to get going now."
"Don't worry Touma, if you want I can help," Hibiki offered.
"Sounds great," Touma admitted.
Miku took a few deep breaths as she tried to control her breathing, having just got done with a heavy run. She was currently in a park that barely had anyone in it due to how late it was getting.
"Not bad," Daishinji said from afar with a stopwatch, leaning on a nearby tree, "Your endurance is pretty good."
"I still feel like I'm a bit out of practice," Miku said between breaths, "While I did used to do a lot of track back in the day, I ended up stopping that a while ago."
"Even then you've got relatively good strength and stamina still," Daishinji replied before giving a smirk, "No wonder you could throw Solomon's Cane that far."
"I'm still amazed at that myself," Miku admitted with a modest smile.
"I'm a bit curious about why you decided to not continue though," Daishinji admitted, "You're in fairly good condition, and from what medical records we have there's no abnormalities either."
Miku thought about it a bit before giving a hum, "I guess I stopped caring about wanting to be ahead, and wanted to walk alongside others instead."
"Huh…" Daishinji muttered, a bit intrigued by how Miku worded that.
"Though recently I felt as if I've been falling behind… especially with the Megid still around…" Miku admitted as she stared at the ground beneath her, "That's why I accepted, so I can walk alongside them again."
"I see…" Daishinji said as he looked over at a long bag he had brought, quickly lifting it up and drawing out a wooden sword, "Think you can keep going for a bit longer? I just wanted to test your endurance today but if you want we can start on the basic stances."
Miku snapped out of her thoughts before approaching where Daishinji was, "Yeah I should be fine."
"What about Hibiki?" Daishinji asked.
"I can just tell her I'll be coming home late," Miku admitted before going over to her belongings and finding her phone and seeing a new text from Hibiki, "Looks like she'll be home pretty late too."
"Then if you're up to it…" Daishinji said as he held a wooden sword out.
"Right," Miku nodded as she took it before staring at it for a while, "Daishinji… how many people in SONG know about this?"
"So far just the Commanders, Elfnein, Fujitaka, and Tomosato," Daishinji replied, "The first three had to be informed given this involved Raimeiken Ikazuchi and Espada. The other two are high up enough in command that they were also informed given they had to help with the paperwork."
"I see," Miku nodded.
"You really don't want your friends to find out?" Daishinji asked, "If it comes down to it, they might be able to help you later down the line with training. There's only so much I can do."
"I think I'm just worried," Miku answered before realizing she needed to elaborate, "Not about Touma I mean, I feel like he might understand even if he will react like he does. I'm worried about Hibiki… especially given the Shenshoujing incident. I don't want her to know until I know I'm fully prepared. Because if she found out before then…"
"She'd try to stop you, right?" Daishinji asked before giving a smile, "I suppose that just means she cares about you. But I can understand why you'd feel that would get in the way."
"That's why I'll commit as much time as I can to this," Miku said with a hardened gaze.
"Then let's get started," Daishinji said as led Miku forward a bit before taking up a sword stance, watching as Miku imitated him, "Now hold that," he said as he relaxed before walking over, going to correct Miku's stance while telling her what to do in order make it easier on her.
"That meeting nearly ran forever," Touma yawned as he walked with Hibiki, the two approaching the front of Fantastic Bookstore Kamiyama as it was fairly late in the evening, "And I've still got a load of preparations to take care of before mom shows up tomorrow."
"Well that's why I'm here!" Hibiki said as she held up a fist, "With the two of us, we can do anything!"
"Did you tell Miku you'd be heading home late?" Touma asked as he went to find his key in his pockets.
"I sent her a text but she actually texted back that the errand she'd be running with Daishinji would end up going pretty late," Hibiki admitted, "I guess it must be super important since they weren't at the meeting."
"Yeah, it was odd to not see them there," Touma admitted, "Feels weird that Miku's getting a bit more proactive in helping us, but hey, I'm sure Daishinji loves the help."
"Oh yeah," Hibiki nodded, "And she's definitely seemed a lot more relaxed lately."
"Ah here we go," Touma said as he grabbed his key and opened the door, "Home sweet home-ah!"
The minute Touma had entered his foot had slipped on something and he was sent sprawling to the floor. Despite the front of the store having no lights on, the room was illuminated just barely enough for them to see that the entirety of the store was a mess.
"Were you robbed?!" Hibiki asked in shock before realizing something more horrifying, "Or have you been picking up Tsubasa's bad habits?!"
"Hibiki, why would you even assume that second part?" Touma questioned with a groan as he managed to pick himself up, "Wait there's more important matters to think of," he realized as he held up his keys, "How did anyone get in without a key or any signs of breaking and entering?!"
"…keys?" A voice asked as a hooded man rose up from behind Touma's desk, reading a book, "I need no such thing."
Hibiki and Touma both shrieked in terror while drawing out their pendant and Swordriver respectively, though Touma also made sure to quickly flick on some of the lights, the room being dimly lit now.
"Who are you?!" Touma questioned.
The hooded man withdrew his hood to reveal Yuri, "Hey."
"It's just you, Yuri," Touma sighed in relief as he began to relax.
"Eh?" Hibiki looked at her friend, "Isn't he the sword guy from Avalon who saved you all against one of the Autoscorers and also helped Maria, Kirika and Shirabe out?"
"Yeah, that's him," Touma nodded.
"This place is filled with books," Yuri complimented, "Truly splendid!"
"Yuri, uh…" Touma looked around, not enjoying the idea of Yuri's habits mirroring another self-proclaimed sword ally of theirs, "This is quite the mess you've…"
"I've just been familiarizing myself on what I've missed after all these years," Yuri explained as he looked over at Touma's desk and grabbed the manuscript that was still being written, "Humanity's knowledge has greatly advanced in the little over thousand years since I've been gone. It's truly splendid!"
"Wait, you've been gone for that long?!" Hibiki asked in shock.
"Touma Kamiyama, you wrote this yourself, yes?" Yuri asked as he held it out towards the aspiring author, "I read what you've written so far, it's very splendid!"
"Oh, thanks…" Touma said slightly stunned as he took the manuscript.
"When will you write more?" Yuri asked.
"Oh uh… sometime soon, maybe," Touma admitted with a modest smile, "Things have been very busy as I'm sure you're aware."
"Ah yes of course," Yuri nodded in understanding, "Dealing with Frontier, Carol, and now discovering worlds beyond our own is certainly to keep even the most skilled of warriors busy."
"Wait, you know about that?!" Hibiki asked.
"I have a friend who keeps me informed of various important details," Yuri replied, "The Gjallarhorn is one of them."
"Okay this is great that we probably don't need to get you up to speed on anything but…" Touma trailed as he walked over to his desk and set the manuscript back on it, "You kind of ransacked my establishment, especially when I have a guest coming over tomorrow."
"Ah that's right!" Hibiki shouted as she quickly went to start picking up books, "Your mom is coming home tomorrow! We need to clean!"
Yuri grabbed a comic out of the stack that Hibiki had, the title being 'Sword X Man', he looked it over a bit, "However, this is a story I found distasteful."
"The comic book…?" Hibiki asked curiously as she looked at the cover of Sword X Man, it being a warrior in gold holding a sword out towards the reader, "What was wrong with it?"
"The characters antagonize adversity, not knowing what it means to save the world," Yuri replied.
"Huh, I'm not a big comic buff but I know a lot of people like that one," Hibiki said as she grabbed the comic to start organizing the books she had taken.
"More importantly, why'd you come here, Yuri?" Touma asked, wondering why Yuri showed up now of all times, "I mean… reading couldn't have been the only thing you'd come to me for."
"I wanted to learn more of the present day," Yuri admitted as he began to walk towards where Touma was, "Would you mind showing me more tomorrow?"
"Hmm…" Touma was unsure since he did have to meet his mom at the airport though he didn't need Yuri making a mess of his shop again. That was when he snapped his fingers as he had an idea, "I've got plans tomorrow but you can join me. If you want to learn more about the present day then there's no better place than the airport!"
"Ah good idea," Hibiki smiled at the idea as she looked over, "We'll pick up your mom and get to know Yuri some more at the same time."
"Sounds splendid," Yuri smiled, "I shall agree to these terms."
The Next Day
Touma, Hibiki and Yuri were currently waiting at the airport, or rather two of them were… as Yuri was currently wandering around in excitement as the two had to almost chase after him. Both had assumed this setup would have been a good idea, but Yuri's curious nature at the world's new era was nearly tiring.
Yuri stopped at a window that showed a plane taking off while another one began to arrive on the landing strip.
"This era is filled to the brim with surprises," Yuri admitted, having not taken in the sights like this before during his mission to observe Touma as well as the situation with Carol, "How splendid!"
"I'm glad you're having fun, but we kind of need to get to a certain gate soon," Touma said, having just gotten a text from his mom that she had landed.
"Maybe I can take him to one of the dining areas," Hibiki suggested, "Get him something to snack on while you meet with your mom?"
"That sounds good," Touma said with a nod, he was glad to see Hibiki's come up with a fast plan even if he was sure she just wanted to grab a bite to eat as well.
"Something seems to be the matter though," Yuri said as he looked around, noticing that he was getting a few looks, "I've noticed people are staring at me…"
"I mean how do you expect people not to given what you're wearing?" Touma asked.
"Oh, I see," Yuri said, getting what Touma meant instantly as he looked around before spotting a man in jeans and a white hooded jacket, "In that case… that'll do," He said as his eyes flashed, his entire body flashing as he gained an exact replica of the outfit.
Hibiki backed away in surprise, "EH?!"
"How's that…?" Yuri asked before tilting his head, "It doesn't feel very comfortable though, maybe that…?" he looked over at a passing by woman and copied her outfit. He was ready to comment when he noticed that his two allies were freaking out further. He then managed to spot a man in a business suit, quickly changing his cloths to his, "Oh… very professional. I kind of like this one actually, what do you two think?"
"H-How…?" Hibiki stammered out.
"I feel like we should be asking why you're doing that in public?!" Touma questioned as he got closer to his new ally.
"What?" Yuri tilted his head, "I am simply making use of my abilities."
"Abilities that shouldn't be on public display," Touma whispered as he got close to Yuri.
"Oh… I understand," Yuri said though he noticed not many people were staring at him anymore, rather they were all converging on a single area, "…so does that usually happen?"
"Huh?" Touma looked to see various people crowding together and murmuring, "That usually isn't a…"
"RUN!"
Panic began to set in almost instantly as a white mist could be seen creeping through the area, various people running away as the crowd began to break apart and run away as well.
Touma and Hibiki looked at each other in worry and quickly rushed through the fleeing crowd to see that they were running from a Megid.
The Megid itself had the standard lower body, various white tuffs of fur on its upper body as it resembled an ape of sorts. Oddly enough however the book that was usually embedded in a Megid was opened up with various writing on it. As it stepped forward, it froze the ground it walked on, a cold mist spreading through the area.
"A Yeti Megid…?" Touma asked.
Hibiki shivered a bit at the sudden cold weather, "I know the sun is killer but even I think this is too co-old!"
The Yeti Megid yelled out, unleashing an icy wave that managed to catch a few people in it, frosting them over and forcing them to the ground.
"We need to get in there now!" Touma quickly brought out his Swordriver, preparing his Wonder Combo as he drew out Rekka from it, "Henshin!"
"R-Right," Hibiki nodded as she took out her pendant and took a deep breath, "B-Balwisyall nescell G-Gungnir tron~"
[REKKA BATTOU! CRIMSON DRAGON!]
{SG-r03': Gungnir}
"Hmm…" Yuri stayed where he was, observing the situation as he narrowed his eyes as if trying to observe the Yeti Megid further.
In a burst of orange fire and light, Saber stood next to Hibiki who had fully donned her Symphogear armor.
"Warm those people up," Hibiki said as she crouched before launching herself at the Yeti Megid, spinning and kicking it in the chest to force it back, "I'll handle the Megid!"
"On it," Saber nodded as he pressed down on Storm Eagle.
[STORM EAGLE!]
Saber quickly crossed his arms before unleashing a red tinted tornado that spread warm wind out throughout the entire area. This resulted in the mist dying out alongside anything that was partially frozen to fully thaw.
The people who had been frosted over gasped as they felt the sudden warmness wash over them, all looking around in surprise.
"Good, now get to safety," Saber said as he gestured away from the fight, sighing in relief as he saw the people nod rapidly while hurrying off.
The Yeti Megid meanwhile tried to slam its arms into Hibiki who easily caught them, tossing them aside. The Wielder of Gungnir then closed in and struck the Megid with her elbow, enough force being unleashed to send it staggering back.
"Alright," Saber nodded before getting a transmission, "This is Touma."
"Touma, what's going on?" Genjuro asked, "I thought you were supposed to be picking up your mom."
"Change of plans, a Megid is attacking the airport but Hibiki and I can handle it," Saber responded.
"Understood," Sophia said, "But we'll continue to monitor the situation from here, alright?"
Hibiki yelped as the Yeti Megid began spewing out more icy mist, just barely dodging out of the way before she could be frozen. She gave a gasp however when she saw her armor partially frosted over.
"Fire should take care of you," Saber called out as he coated his sword on fire before leaping forward, using the wind of Storm Eagle to carry him as he dropped down and slashed at the Megid. He inwardly cheered when he saw his fire cut through the icy mist, striking the Megid and forcing it back, "Hibiki, you alright?"
"Y-yeah I'm fine," Hibiki nodded before focusing her energy and releasing a small burst of it with a short shout to shatter the frost on her, "Let's go."
"Right," Saber said as he ran forward.
The Yeti Megid gave a gasp as it raised its arms, seeing both Saber and Hibiki launch towards it, slashing and punching respectively.
A blade had blocked the slash and punch, both Saber and Hibiki's eyes widening as it was Legeiel's sword.
"Miss me?" Legeiel asked with a grin as he was in his human form, swinging forward and unleashing a whirlwind that forced the Rider and Wielder to stumble back, "I'd appreciate if you would stop getting in our way."
"Legeiel…" Hibiki muttered.
"This is weird," Saber admitted, "You're actually joining a singular Megid this time?"
"How is that so odd?" Legeiel asked though he had a big grin on his face as if he knew it was an oddity, "The simple matter is that since we aren't allied with anyone, we figured we'd spice up our hunts."
"And yet there's several times when you didn't," Saber recalled at least four Megid from two different incidents that had no sign of the General's in sight, both of those also being just after major events like Frontier and the Magical Girl Incident.
"But Calibur is gone," Hibiki said, "Wasn't he helping you with your goals?"
"Help is the key word, even without him our plans remain unchanged," Legeiel said before giving a yell, entering his monstrous Phantom Beast form. He then yelled out as he charged at the two, swinging wildly and forcing the Rider and Wielder away from each other.
Saber gave a gasp as he was forced to block against Legeiel's slashes, the Megid leader focusing on him.
Hibiki attempted to help only to quickly block a punch from the Yeti Megid, soon letting out a yelp and backing away once it started spraying an icy mist towards her.
"A-ah, c-cold," Hibiki shuddered as she moved back and away from freezing mist, "T-Too c-cold!"
"Hibiki!" Saber called out before grunting as he raised his sword to block another of Legeiel's slashes, soon getting pinned against the wall.
"Seems like I am needed," Yuri said as he brought out his Saikou Driver before placing it on his waist and drawing out his personal Ride Book. He slotted it in before drawing out the sword and holding it beside his head.
[SAIKOU HAKKOU!]
Yuri stared forward as his body began to shine brightly, "Henshin!"
[WHO IS THE SHINING SWORD? SAIKOU!]
In an instant Yuri's body turned into sparks of light that entered the Kougoukan Saikou, the Seiken itself enlarging before launching forward at high speeds.
Legeiel gasped out as he was struck by Saikou, quickly backing away and barely defending against the floating Seiken before him, "You buzzing pest!"
The Yeti Megid yelled out as it stopped pursuing Hibiki to attack, turning and trying to strike at Saikou who simply slipped past its attacks and struck it in the chest.
"We're ending this now!" Saber said as he leapt up, landing in front of the Yeti Megid before spinning and kicking it away. He knew he couldn't go for a big explosive attack so he slotted Rekka into the Swordriver and initiated his Driver's finisher, "Roaring Dragon Kick!"
[HISSATSU DOKUHA! DRAGON! EAGLE! SAIYUU JA!]
The Yeti Megid managed to pick itself up only to gasp out as it watched Saber leap into the air. The Rider kicked forward with his right leg, striking the Megid dead center in the chest before withdrawing his right leg and kicking out with his left.
[SANSATSU GEKI! F-F-F-FIRE!]
The Yeti Megid rolled away, its form crackling with energy before it suddenly shattered as the enhanced Blank Alter Book was ejected out, it clattering nearby. However despite it being blank it now had blood red paint creeping onto it from the edges of the cover.
Saber landed before suddenly giving a gasp, Hibiki hurrying over only to give a short shriek when she saw what had happened.
When the Yeti Megid had shattered it had revealed that there was a person inside of its body, as if its monstrous form was acting like a shell. Inside was a woman with somewhat long brown hair tied into a ponytail. She was wearing white jeans and brown boots, having a light blue blouse on with a khaki button up shirt over it.
"M-Mom…?" Saber muttered in a near whisper with a shudder as he couldn't bring himself to move. He nearly dropped to his knees as he realized what he had nearly done but had to keep standing since he instinctively still knew they were fighting.
"Mi… Mi… Michiko?" Hibiki managed to speak up.
The woman before the two was Michiko Kamiyama, Touma's mom. She shuddered and groaned out however as her body was covered in frost and snow. Her eyes shaking as she caught sight of Hibiki, managing to weakly speak up, "Hi-Hibiki…?"
Legeiel yelled out and slammed Saikou into the ground before charging forward.
"So it's as I thought," Saikou mused as he floated up, having felt something off with the Yeti Megid to begin with.
Saber was ready to move towards his mom when Legeiel got between him and his mother, "What did you do to her?!"
Legeiel laughed at the clear anguish he could hear from the Swordsman of Flames, picking up the blank Alter Book and shaking it a few times, "This."
"What?" Hibiki asked.
"By implanting this book into a human, a Megid shall be born," Legeiel said before unleashing a whirlwind, forcing both Saber and Hibiki backwards. He then walked over towards Michiko who began to gasp and back away in fear, "And after going berserk for long enough, the Megid will give birth to a new Alter Book."
Michiko tried to turn to run only to gasp as the blank Alter Book was dropped onto her, it sinking into her body as she screamed out. Her body soon froze solid before the ice grew so thick that she could no longer be seen.
[SHIRAYUKI YETI!]
The ice shattered to reveal the Yeti Megid, it yelling out as it managed to pick itself up.
"…what?" Hibiki asked in horror as she heard this.
"Give her… give her back!" Saber yelled out as he picked himself up, drawing out Rekka and charging forward.
"Well looks like he was right on the money," Legeiel chuckled as he heard Saber's rage. He dismissed his sword however and drew out two standard Alter Ride Books, opening them up, "You can play with these though."
[ITAZURA GOBLINS!]
[MEDUSA JADEN!]
The Goblin and Medusa Megid's both leaped forward, the Goblin striking Saber with its staff to stop him while Medusa lashed out with its whips to force him back.
"You're witnessing the next step of our plans," Legeiel explained before walking off with the Yeti Megid, "Storious had to carefully make sure we could get to this point since Frontier, and now we can finally branch out on our own."
"Michiko…" Hibiki muttered as she fully got up, she wanted to go after Legeiel and the Yeti Megid, but she didn't even know what she could do without potentially hurting Touma's mom in the process. She heard a yell and looked over, her eyes widening, "Touma!"
Saber gasped as he was currently bound by Medusa's tendrils, the Goblin closing in and striking at Saber with its staff to force the Rider to the ground.
Before the Goblin could advance further its weapon was batted way by Saikou who easily slashed through it to force it back. Saikou then began spinning around, slicing through Medusa's tendril to free Saber before slashing past Medusa in tandem.
[SAIKOU HAKKOU!]
Saikou moved back towards Saber, giving a yell and unleashing two bright beams of light as his sword form's eyes flashed. The two Megid were struck by the beams of light, gasping out and exploding once they were hit with enough energy.
[GOOD LUCK!]
"Truly splendid," Saikou remarked, "It seems my blade hasn't dulled."
Saber meanwhile had gotten up only to fall on his rear once the battle had ended, dismissing his transformation as he was still in shock.
Hibiki's eyes widened as she rushed over, "Touma!"
In a secluded warehouse district, Miku and Daishinji were currently practicing sword stances. Since Hibiki was going to be busy with Touma meeting Michiko, she figured she'd use the chance to train further. Of course she felt a bit bad not being able to meet with Michiko immediately, but she figured she'd still have her chance later on.
"Not bad," Daishinji said as he continued to practice alongside her, noting the small slipups but continuing to go forward anyway, figuring that Miku could adjust in the long run, "You're definitely picking it up more easily than Touma."
"You really think so?" Miku asked as she kept copying Daishinji's movements.
"Definitely," Daishinji replied, "He's a great swordsman but his patience definitely could use some work."
"I suppose if there's one fault of his, he likes to rush," Miku noted as they continued, "Granted, I'm pretty sure what helped was I wasn't just swinging around a sword wildly before all this."
"Exactly," Daishinji agreed, "He was too used to his own haphazard fighting style that getting into the basics was hard even if he did adjust. Meanwhile you haven't had any prior sword training, correct?"
"Right," Miku nodded.
"Then that makes it easy enough for you to copy me performing the basics," Daishinji explained, "You're a blank canvas without any experience and thus can easily learn something without your instincts telling you otherwise."
"That's a good way at putting it," Miku replied before hearing her and Daishinji's communicators ringing, "Huh?"
"Let's break for now," Daishinji said as he stopped and pulled out his communicator, "Yes? Miku's with me," he paused as he took in the information being received, "A new type of Megid?" he asked before hearing further, his eyes widening, "His own mother?!"
Miku felt a chill go down her spine at those words, "What's wrong?"
"We'll be there right away," Daishinji said before hanging up, "Our training session is cancelled for today. Apparently there's a new Megid type that involves turning humans into them and Touma's mother was their first victim…"
Miku's eyes widened in shock but managed to nod in understanding, "We need to get over there now!"
Due to the urgent nature of the situation and the fact that details hadn't exactly been finalized, Genjuro had just called in Daishinji and Miku while Hibiki, Touma and Yuri made their way back to SONG HQ. Rintaro was currently outside of the base for the day with Kanade while Chris was having a tutoring session with Shirabe and Kirika. The bridge crew figured once they got everything figured out that they'd inform the remainder of their allies about the situation.
Thankfully it didn't take long for everyone called to assemble at the bridge, everyone in various spots as they tried to figure out what was going on.
Touma was currently facing the wall that was near the entrance to the bridge, his arms out as he leaned forward and hung his head, "I almost killed her…" he muttered in near shock, realizing that if he had been in a stronger form and went for a more lethal blow, "I almost…"
"Touma…" Miku muttered as she placed a hand on his back to comfort him alongside Hibiki.
"How does someone become a Megid?" Sakuya questioned, "I thought they were just, already created like the Wonder Ride Books."
"No, there have been texts that have stated the Megid were created in an attempt to recreate the Great Book," Daishinji explained as he put a hand to his chin, "Though I assumed that they were born through elaborate rituals and not whatever this is…"
"That would be correct," Yuri spoke up as he looked around, a bit bored by SONG's bridge so he began to speak on the current situation, "There was a forbidden technique they utilized via alchemy to turn humans into Megid. But that required a lot of preparation and materials plus it was never a 100% success."
"I seem to recall Carol researching that from what little of her memories I have," Elfnein nodded, "A very twisted form of Alchemy, numerous humans sacrificing their humanity to become knowledge itself."
"It appears as though they've gotten past the strenuous setup that was limiting them before," Yuri mused, "By implanting a new type of blank book into a human they can likely use the person themselves to create a new Alter Book."
"W-What exactly would happen to the human once it's created?" Sakuya asked as he looked away from his station while Aoi continued to type at hers.
"I know you're trying to ask something hopeful," Daishinji replied, "But… if we're speaking in terms of making something… then the human is the fuel to create the new Alter Book. Which means their life is…" he paused when he looked over at Touma who was still where he was, Hibiki and Miku looking over in concern, "We can't allow this to go any further than it already has."
"Indeed," Yuri said as he began to pace around, his eye catching sight of the control console at Sakuya's station, it being the one thing in the base that caught his eyes due to its unique setup, "If the Megid continue to use humans to create books, they'll be able to make their own twisted Great Book with the knowledge they amass. That mustn't be allowed to happen."
"This is an impossible task however…" Genjuro spoke up in a grim tone as he crossed his arms, "Because we'd have to take down the person in order to keep them from becoming a Megid. Something I will not allow happen."
"W-Wait," Hibiki spoke up as she realized something, "The book ejected the last time we hit the Megid hard enough, what if we-"
"What if we hurt them badly in the process?" Touma spoke up.
"T-Touma… I was just…" Hibiki stammered before looking down.
"There's also no guarantee that it'll eject before its completion again," Daishinji added, "There has to be some way to fully separate the host from the Alter Book…"
Yuri meanwhile was enamored with Sakuya's console, messing with the strange interface as Sakuya was too deep in thought at the situation to even realize what was going on.
"I can't stop here… I can't stop now…" Touma said as he pushed himself away from the wall but still faced it before glancing back at everyone, "Because if I can't save my own mom, what chance do I have to help anyone else who succumbs to this?"
"Saving her requires you to strike her down," Yuri said bluntly as he continued to mess with the console.
"Huh?" Sakuya gave a yelp as he saw Yuri so close before quickly waving his arms, "Hey, shoo! This is delicate equipment!"
"O-Oh," Yuri backed away in surprise.
"You really should pay more attention," Aoi said as she kept intently looking at her console while working.
"And what are you doing that's so important?" Sakuya asked before flinching as he received a glare, "Just saying? Are you even paying attention?"
"Of course I am but there's already too many people talking," Aoi said as she continued to work, looking for abnormal changes in temperature, "Alright…"
"Regardless, this organization is tasked with protecting the world correct?" Yuri asked as he looked around, "It is your duty to stop the new Megid type from utilizing human lives to fuel the Megid Leaders desires."
"Wait one second," Miku spoke up with a light glare, "You can't expect Touma to strike down his own-"
"I'm receiving reports of a sudden temperature drop nearby!" Aoi interrupted as she began to bring up the maps and camera footage, soon showing that the Yeti Megid was freezing over one of the dock's that was near their location. Once they had seen a glimpse of what the Yeti Megid would do, it was an easy task trying to track it now that they had its M.O., "It's our Yeti Megid!"
"I'm heading out immediately!" Touma said as he began move for the door.
"Touma!" Genjuro shouted with enough force to stop Touma from moving before looking over, "Just what exactly do you plan on doing?"
"I'm not cutting my own mother down," Touma shook his head, "But we need to stop that Megid, so I'm hoping to maybe capture it so we can try and figure out how to separate the Alter Book from her."
"Then you'll need this," Genjuro quickly tossed Jackun to Domamenoki towards Touma who caught it.
"Thank you Commander," Touma said before rushing out.
"Touma, wait!" Hibiki shouted in concern as she ran off after Touma.
"Miku, Elfnein, we're heading to the workshop," Daishinji said as he looked to the two and began moving towards the door, "Let's see if we can figure out a way to separate Touma's mother from the Alter Book."
Both Elfnein and Miku nodded, the two following off after Daishinji.
"Now then," Genjuro said as he laid eyes on Yuri, "I appreciate your help, but I can tell by your words that you're not exactly giving us the full picture."
"Yes," Sophia nodded, "It can't really be as simple as just striking down the Megid."
"It is, and the situation can be resolved easily by allowing me to do what Touma cannot in his current state," Yuri said before his body began to shine before vanishing in a burst of golden particles.
Genjuro and Sophia stepped forward in surprise before looking at each other, the two realizing that working with Yuri was going to be more difficult than they had figured.
Legeiel entered the Megid Hideout back in his human form with a skip before spinning as he was in a good mood.
"Letting your little creation go rampaging Legeiel?" Storious asked with a smile.
"Of course," Legeiel smiled, "I want to see Saber panic and fall apart thanks to the little info you gave me to make this happen."
"It's also a story I so desperately want to see," Storious admitted, "If he truly is a hero, can he save the ones he loves? He was just barely able to do so with his father, let us give him a more strenuous test with our new Megid."
"Who cares about all the theatrics," Zooous scoffed but kept a grin on his face, "All we need to do is make more Alter Books right?"
"Yes, it's fairly easy," Storious said as he brought out the large blank Alter Book, "Of course it costs a human their life-force to create these powerful Books."
"Sounds super easy," Zooous said as he snatched the book away and looked it over, "To think that it took a while though."
"What helped was Miss Cadenzavna Eve's plea to save everyone during the Frontier Incident," Legeiel smirked, "Bringing all those people together in song with that particular song… well, it unlocked some very good avenues for us to use."
"Avenues that allow us to access a great amount of power that we normally wouldn't be able to," Storious chuckled, "Oh how I wonder how she'll react when she finds out what she truly did… however now is not the time for that."
"Right now we should focus on killing two birds with one stone," Legeiel agreed as he put his hands behind his back, "This world is filled with humans after all. They should feel honored they'll be used to create our new books. That way they won't have to suffer when we reshape the world in our image."
"What about the new guy though?" Zooous asked, "That Sword of Light guy?"
"He's annoying but not worth worrying about," Legeiel scoffed.
Storious however let out a hum, "The long lost Seiken of Light…"
The Yeti Megid growled before spewing out a large stream of icy wind that froze over the dock and surrounding water nearby it. It shouted as it pounded its chest, clearly proud of its job as the Alter Book's steadily worked on completing itself.
It heard the sound of revving before giving a gasp as Touma leapt over it on the Diago Speedy, landing and sliding to a stop as Hibiki was also on the motorcycle.
"Michiko!" Hibiki called out as she managed to catch the Megid's attention, "Can you hear me from in there?!"
"Mom, it's me!" Touma shouted as he dismounted the bike alongside Hibiki, "Say something!"
The Yeti Megid simply growled out as it pounded its fists.
"Mom… don't worry, we'll take you back to SONG and help you somehow!" Touma called out as he brought out Dragonic Knight and prepared it, "Hibiki!"
"Right, I'll be careful!" Hibiki stared forward, steeling her resolve as she brought out her pendant, "Balwisyall nescell Gungnir tron~"
Touma yelled out as he withdrew Rekka before slashing forward, "Henshin!"
{SG-r03': Gungnir}
[REKKA BATTOU! DON'T MISS IT! DRAGONIC KNIGHT~!]
The Yeti Megid saw the transformations take place before smacking its chest and walking towards them.
"I'm taking back my mom," Saber hissed out as he sheathed his sword again, planning on using Dragonic Knight's stronger durability for the capture maneuver, "Hibiki, we're going to try and pin it down and see if she can hear us, alright?"
"Got it," Hibiki said as she held her hands forward in a defensive stance.
The Yeti Megid charged forward, swinging its arms wildly as both Hibiki and Saber dodged out of the way. The two managing to grab onto the Yeti Megid before forcing it against one of the nearby warehouse walls at the dock they were on.
"Please mom!" Saber begged as he tried to keep the Yeti Megid pinned, "I don't want to hurt you!"
"Touma…?" Michiko's voice could be heard as a spectral version of her face appeared over the open book on the Yeti Megid's chest, "Touma…? Please… help me…"
Saber gave a gasp, "Mom!"
"Michiko!" Hibiki shouted, "Come on, you have to try and fight it!"
Michiko faded away as the Yeti Megid's eyes shined brightly, it yelling out as it pushed its strength into overdrive to force both the Rider and Wielder backwards.
"We kind of got through to her!" Hibiki called out.
"Then we'll keep trying while we drag this thing back!" Saber shouted as he brought out Jackun to Domamenoki and loaded it into the Dragonic Booster.
[ONE! READING! JACKUN TO DOMAMENOKI!]
"You're coming with us!" Saber shouted as he threw his left arm forward, fiery vines rushing out of the Dragonic Booster and binding the Yeti Megid, forcing its arms together.
[FLAME SPICY!]
"Alright," Saber nodded before going to approach, hoping the Megid would be weakened by the flames.
The Yeti Megid however howled out as it gathered icy energy within its arms, easily breaking through the bindings before shouting further. Soon enough it unleashed a strong gust of cold air, it instantly freezing everything it touched.
HIbiki shouted and punched the ground, forming a shield of concrete to try and block the ice from hitting them to no avail.
The icy wind had easily frozen over the piece of concrete and slipped through the cracks, shattering it and subjecting the Rider and Wielder to the cold air. Both could only give a gasp as they were trapped in two large chunks of ice. Though, the true result of the Yeti Megid's latest attack was that it had also frozen over most of the dock in the process.
The Yeti Megid yelled out in joy as it looked around, clearly pleased with how it was freezing over most of the area with little issues.
"Now this is just deplorable," Yuri said as he walked onto the scene, clearly disappointed by what was going on. He prepared his transformation, drawing the Kougouken Saikou out once he was ready, "Henshin!"
[WHO IS THE SHINING SWORD? SAIKOU!]
Yuri's body vanished into gold light as that light entered the Seiken as he transformed into Saikou. He wasted no time in flying up high into the air, "Nothing can withstand my divine light! Let there be light!"
[SAIKOU HAKKOU!]
Utilizing his finisher he unleashed a bright burst of intense light, the heat from it instantly evaporating the ice and freeing anyone who was trapped in it.
[GOOD LUCK!]
Hibiki and Saber both gasped out as they fell to their knees, the two shivering a bit before their bodies adjusted to how warm the area was now that Saikou had heated it up.
Saikou let out a yell, slashing down and striking the Yeti Megid in the back, "I will strike you down and save the world."
"Yuri, wait!" Saber shouted.
"We're going to capture it!" Hibiki shouted, "We don't need to strike anyone down!"
Saikou seemed to ignore the two, continually slashing against the Yeti Megid to force it backwards. Eventually however the Megid caught the Seiken and began spewing an icy wind out of its mouth to fully freeze it over.
"A clever idea," Saikou admitted, "But can you handle this?"
[WHO IS THIS?]
Saikou unleashed a large amount of light from his body, casting shadows near the both of them. Oddly enough there was one shadow belonging to a humanoid figure that wasn't nearby.
[SAIKOU NISHOU!]
The shadow began to rise out of the ground, revealing a black plain suited knight-like warrior with a cross shape visor. Of course its body wasn't entirely there, it being almost see-through. It also had the Seiken Saikou Driver's belt piece on its waist.
"…A shadow?" Hibiki asked as both her and Saber losing their panic for a brief moment due to how odd Saikou's new ability was.
[A silhouette born from within the light!]
[SHADOW!]
The shadow despite seeming intangible, easily kicked Saikou out of the Megid's hands, Saikou unleashing a burst of light to break the ice off of him before falling. Shadow held up its hand, it catching Saikou and holding it forward. Saikou however still exhibited full control over his sword form, with Shadow seemingly acting as an easier way to fight.
The Yeti Megid charged in to try and strike at Shadow, only to pass through it as Shadow turned and slashed with Saikou. The difference in fighting was clear as day, Shadow having more precise, controlled, and clean movements than Saikou's flailing around.
"Witness the power of the Seiken of Light," Saikou boasted as Shadow turned into a cloud of black smoke, it rushing forward and reforming before slashing with Saikou.
The Yeti Megid yelled out as sparks flew, stumbling backwards from the attack.
"Touma, Hibiki, the two of you need to stop gawking!" Genjuro shouted through communications, "He means to make good on his plan!"
Saber and Hibiki gasped the two quickly shaking their shock off as they tried to tackle Shadow only to pass straight through it.
"Huh?" Saber looked in surprise.
"Ah, so it really is a Shadow?!" Hibiki asked.
"The Sword must be the main body still," Sakuya spoke up.
"You two need to hurry!" Aoi shouted.
Saikou used Yeti's fixation on Shadow to his advantage, having the Shadow toss him before it sunk into the ground and reformed near the Yeti Megid. The Yeti Megid turned only for Saikou to slash at it several times, Shadow taking hold and going for strong swings to force it away.
Shadow continued to slash, performing another strong swing that launched the Yeti Megid up, stretching its upper body to slash with Saikou again, sending the Yeti Megid down against the ground.
"This flash of light will safeguard the world," Saikou said as Shadow pressed the button on his side to initiate the finisher, "May the light consume you!"
[SAIKOU HAKKOU!]
"You may be an ally… but I'm not letting you anywhere near my mom!" Saber shouted as he rushed forward while initiating Rekka's finisher, drawing it out as he ran as fast as he could to protect the Yeti Megid.
[REKKA BATTOU!]
Saikou and Shadow launched upwards, spiraling into a tornado of black and gold that spun down towards the injured Yeti Megid.
Saber immediately slid in front of the finisher, yelling out as he unleashed a bright red flash from his sword.
[DRAGONIC HISSATSU GIRI!]
The two attacks collided before causing an explosion, Saber gasping out as he was slammed against the ground. Thankfully he didn't lose his transformation but he was still stunned.
The Yeti Megid meanwhile managed to scramble to its feet after being sent rolling from the force of the explosion. It quickly began to run away before leaping over one of the warehouses, managing to escape.
"Michiko…" Hibiki muttered as her transformation dismissed itself.
Shadow meanwhile was on one knee, holding Saikou up still as it vanished, the Seiken itself vanishing in a flash of light with Yuri standing in its place. Saber removed Dragonic Knight and turned towards Yuri while dismissing his transformation.
"Why did you interfere?" Yuri asked with a light glare.
"I…" Touma started before giving a glare, "I'm not going to let you cut her down!"
"It seems I'm going to have trouble seeing eye to eye with the swordsmen of this age," Yuri admitted as he locked eyes with Touma.
Hibiki meanwhile stared at the two, wondering if Yuri's solution of 'cut Michiko down' was the only way. Though she was also extremely worried about Touma, having not seen her friend in this much distress before.
The three were unaware they were being watched by someone on one of the dock's warehouses, the culprit being a woman in a suit made of blue and bluish white components. She had fairly long extravagant greenish white hair and blue eyes. She crossed her arms as she stared at the scene before her before looking over at where the Yeti Megid fled to.
"So it looks like the reports were right," she said as she turned and walked away from the edge of the warehouse, "Storious… given you want to step out into the limelight, I suppose I should pay a visit to see if you can be of some use to my goals."
To Be Continued…
Author's Note: What else can be said but welcome to Song of Swords RXU. Starting off a bit slow since while Gjallarhorn plays a major role this season, I still have some Saber plots to hit and resolve. Of course going slow doesn't mean I don't get to hit soft since of course, I get to put Touma through some heavy pain given the identity of the Yeti Megid in this story compared to in the series.
Though that didn't mean there wasn't some fun to be had in the non character torturing sense, since I finally bring in Yuri as a member of the main cast after his brief appearances prior to this. Not to mention I got to have a bit of fun with some references in regards to Parallel Worlds during the meeting during the beginning of the chapter. With that said though, thanks for reading, it's great to be back, and I'll see you all next time!