Sympho-Saber: Song of Swords
GX:EP04 – Convictions that Pierce Through
Aftermath of the Zwei Wing Concert Tragedy…
Tsubasa had rushed over with a scream near immediately after Kanade had sung her Swan Song, the Gungnir Wielder having fallen over.
Tsubasa quickly held her friend up, "Kanade!"
"Where are you, Tsubasa? It's so dark. I can't see your face." Kanade spoke in a lower voice as her vision was just a blob of colors at this point. Blood was dripping out of her mouth and her eyes were glazed over. Not to mention her armor was in disrepair with her headgear completely gone. She was a complete wreck and with how she was feeling, she knew she was unlikely to make it.
"Kanade…" Tsubasa squeaked out.
"I'm sorry… seems this is our last gig," Kanade said as she tried to move her arms but could only manage a small twitch of her fingers.
"Why… why are you telling me that?" Tsubasa asked as tears streamed down from her eyes, "Don't be mean to me, Kanade."
"You've always been weak and a little crybaby," Kanade teased.
"I don't care!" Tsubasa shouted, "I want to sing with you forever!"
"Did you know, Tsubasa, that if you sing a lot, you get really hungry?" Kanade mentioned as her eyes closed before a tear began to trail down from one of them.
"KANADE!" Tsubasa's eyes widened as she went to hold her friend closer.
In an instant Kanade's body had dissolved into a flurry of ashes and flames, the flickering flames rising high into the sky as the ashes scattered away. The flames began to die out in the air except for one, it slowly but surely falling back down towards the stadium's now destroyed seating area. The flame broke apart to reveal the Eternal Phoenix Ride Book, it dropping down as a hand caught it.
It was the same man who had given it to Kanade earlier, Isaac. It seemed as though he had made it through the entirety of the event unscathed.
[ETERNAL PHOENIX!]
The book pulsated with an orange glow as he gripped it tightly, soon bringing out what looked like a normal red book but with a crystal jewel on its cover. It shined a bright red before his lab assistant clothes were replaced by the same velvet cloak Master Logos wore.
"And so her soul has imprinted on this book…" Master Logos said as he looked over all the destruction that had been caused, "Do not worry Kanade Amou, I will not let your flame be snuffed out so easily…"
Present Day
Kanade let out a light groan as she opened her eyes, having fallen asleep while sitting against a wall in an abandoned building. Nearby her was the Mumeiken Kyomu, currently leaning against a wall.
"Another dream about that Wielder…" Kanade muttered as she gripped her head, a continuous pounding sensation occurring, "And now this stupid headache's getting worse…"
Being on her own had its perks since she was able to do what she wanted. She could follow the path she believed would help her. But that also left her without shelter, food, and most importantly a way to keep Kyomu repaired and maintained. Thankfully she hadn't lost that much, so the sword was still holding up but she was definitely feeling a lack of efficiency from it as of late.
Of course what wasn't helping was the fact that she kept getting flashes of a particular day, and Tsubasa was at the center of those flashes of memory. What was worse was they gave her terrible headaches that seemingly lasted most of the day. So much so that she just wanted to sleep through them but even then they were unpleasant enough to keep her up. She was hoping that remembering her past would fix how she felt, not make her feel like she was in near agony all the time.
"I need to figure out something…" Kanade grunted as she shakily stood up, walking over to where Kyomu was leaning and gripping it tightly, "These headaches are a pain in the ass…"
Kento could only sigh as he entered SONG's cafeteria, simply having some Ramune in hand as he tried to figure out the best way to go about defeating Calibur now that Jaou Dragon was in play. He was broken out of his thoughts when he heard the clang of a fork, soon noticing that Maria was there eating a small meal.
"Maria…?" Kento asked.
"Oh, Kento," Maria said as she noticed her friend, "What brings you here?"
"Just thinking," Kento said as he went to sit down across from her, "Though it seems like you were doing the same."
"Just thinking about Serena," Maria admitted, "What about you?"
"Trying to figure out how to deal with Kamijo," Kento admitted, "That new form of his surpasses the Wonder Combo's in regards to pure power…"
"I can only imagine," Maria said before noticing what Kento was wearing, "I still can never get your fashion sensibilities."
"What?" Kento asked as he looked himself over, having decided to start dressing in his usual Logos Sector uniform of swordsman robes like Rintaro had. Though this design was somewhat unique in that it also was the same style his father wore, "I figured I'd wear what's technically considered uniform."
"Don't you get hot in that?" Maria asked.
"The material breathes rather well," Kento said as he tugged on his clothing slightly, "Why do you think Rintaro can walk around in it all the time?"
"I assumed he was just weird," Maria admitted in enough of a casual fashion to cause Kento to laugh heavily as a result.
"He's just… ha… very straightforward," Kento said between laughs before calming down, "Though it is up to personal preference for us Swordsmen since the Commander only wears the coat over his shoulders most of the time and Touma just wears his own stuff."
"Speaking of Touma, how's that been?" Maria asked, "I'm sure aside from your stint as my manager it's nice to be around him again, right?"
"It is," Kento gave a nod as a small smile formed, "As selfish as it is to say, I'm kind of glad we were able to come home."
"We can be selfish together then," Maria chuckled, "As sour as the situation has been, getting to see Kirika, Shirabe and the others again has been great."
"But still, it's inspiring to be in Touma's presence," Kento said as he thought on his childhood friend, "He only recently became a Kamen Rider and yet he's grown so strong."
"Strong, huh…?" Maria muttered as she heard this, her thoughts going back to how she could try and be as strong as her younger sister.
"Yeah," Kento gave a nod, "It makes me want to try my hardest for every-"
His words were cut off by the sound of an alarm, a nearby screen in the cafeteria flashing a particular word as their eyes widened.
"Alca-Noise!" Maria called out before running off.
"Not good," Kento muttered as he ran off after Maria.
"Alca-Noise detected!" Sakuya reported, "Narrowing down coordinates!"
"With Elfnein's information, we've been able to improve our precision greatly," Aoi said as she typed away at her station.
They were able to pull up the camera feed to show Hibiki, Miku and their friends surrounded by Alca-Noise. The grouping of Alca-Noise this time was led by Garie.
"All Gear Wielders and Kamen Riders prepare for immediate combat!" Sakuya called out before realizing his mistake.
"Shirabe and Kirika are in no condition to fight, and without usable Gears, we can't mobilize Tsubasa, Chris, or Maria either," Aoi reminded her partner, "However we still have our Kamen Riders."
"But aren't Blades and Espada still recovering?" Sophia asked.
"Rintaro yes, but from what medical scans we obtained from Kento, he wasn't that badly hurt in London," Sakuya said, "He should be well enough to go without issue."
"Thankfully Hibiki can still don her gear," Genjuro reminded, "But reinforcing her will be good, start figuring out the locations of the closest Riders. Touma should be in the city, right?"
"Right, working on calling him now," Sakuya said before growing frustrated the more the Swordsman of Flame wouldn't respond, "Why isn't he-"
"New signal detected, further out from the area!" Aoi called out as she brought up the name on screen.
{ANKOKUKEN KURAYAMI}
{JAOU DRAGON}
"That's likely why Saber isn't responding…" Sophia trailed before noticing something wrong, "Wait, why hasn't Hibiki transformed yet? Does she not wish to fight?"
"The words just won't come out… The Gungnir won't respond to me!"
Everyone froze when they heard those words.
Sakuya's eyes widened, "It's not that she refuses to sing…"
"She can't!" Aoi finished.
"Ogawa grab Kento and go!" Genjuro called out, drawing out Jackun to Domamenoki and tossing it to Ogawa.
"This is…" Ogawa caught the book before looking it over.
"We need to surprise them as much as possible," Genjuro said, "Anything that allows us to keep our losses to a minimum."
"Leave it to me, sir," Ogawa said as readied the Fuusouken Hayate before rushing towards the door, and in the process nearly running into both Maria and Kento. He had managed to stop on a dime to keep from crashing into them, "Good you're here Kento, come with me!"
Maria shook her head as she watched Ogawa slip past her and Kento, "What's happening?!"
"We have to go support Hibiki!" Ogawa explained before running off.
Maria and Kento both gave a nod before running off after Ogawa.
"Are you going to transform or not?" Calibur asked.
"Why are you trying to toy with me?" Touma asked with a glare as he set the Swordriver on his waist, bringing out both Brave Dragon and King of Arthur next.
"I only wish for you to see the difference in our power," Calibur answered, "You've already completed your task."
"What?" Touma raised an eyebrow at that, not knowing of Calibur's current scheme.
"Hurry up, and transform!" Calibur yelled out as he threw his hand forward, the Shimi all groaning out and charging towards the bookstore owner.
"Fine then," Touma said as he slotted both of his Ride Books into his Driver before drawing out the Kaenken Rekka, "Henshin!"
[REKKA BATTOU! WONDER RIDER! DRAGON! ARTHUR OU!]
In a burst of fire, Saber Dragon Arthur stood before the oncoming Shimi horde as the gigantic Kingexcalibur blade manifested and dug itself into the ground behind him. It towered above Saber in a resting state as he didn't plan to use it right out of the gate. Instead, Saber leapt forward with both of his blades to confront the horde rushing his way.
He shouted loudly, slicing through several Shimi that had gotten to him first with both Rekka and the Kingexcalibur he wielded. More Shimi continued to rush towards him, holding their blades forward as they attempted to overwhelm him.
[HISSATSU DOKUHA! KING SLASH!]
Saber shouted again and spun as he slashed, the gigantic Kingexcalibur lifting itself out of the ground and swinging forward as well. The large and wide slash had managed to catch all of the Shimi in it, groans being heard as they fell back and exploded.
"You still wield that power magnificently," Calibur complimented with a chuckle before walking forward, "However…"
Saber said nothing as he swung the Kingexcalibur, the enlarged version following his movements and being slammed downwards against Calibur.
Calibur chuckled and merely stabbed at an angle, the tip of Kurayami clashing against the gigantic blade. He then let out a grunt as he slammed his palm against the pommel of his Seiken. A burst of darkness was unleashed from the tip of the blade, sending the Kingexcalibur backwards from the force.
Saber crossed his swords together, fire and blue energy gathering in each of them respectively. He then spun and slashed forward, performing a cross slash towards Calibur.
Calibur himself spun while throwing out his cape, dark energy being unleashed outwards and splitting the cross slash, the energy crashing against the sides of the plaza they were fighting in.
"Seriously…?" Saber muttered.
"Do you realize how outclassed you are?" Calibur asked.
"If you think I'll stop fighting…" Saber hissed out as drew out King of Arthur and pressed it against the Kingexcalibur's finisher slot.
[KYODAINA KENSHI GA MEWOSAMASU! KING OF ARTHUR!]
The Kingexcalibur soon unfolded to become the King of Arthur mecha, it hovering above ground with its thrusters before slashing at Calibur who leapt away. The King of Arthur soon gave chase, mimicking Saber's movements and slashing at Calibur.
Calibur kept dodging before leaping up into the air, dark flames appearing on his feet as he began to float in the air. He charged Kurayami with darkness as he began slashing to deflect the strikes of King Arthur.
The King of Arthur was forced back by several of the darkness fueled strikes but tried to press forward. That was until Calibur started unleashing crescent bursts of darkness against it, sparks flying as it was forced to land.
"If that won't work then… I'll help!" Saber called out as he leapt towards the King of Arthur, his body growing stiffer as his left skirt-piece slid into place to become the bladed extension that allowed him to become a sword.
[SWORD CHANGE! KAMEN RIDER SABER!]
King of Arthur soon dual wielded, holding Saber in its hands as it leapt towards Calibur, slamming the Saber blade down against the Dark Rider.
[HISSATSU READ! JAOU DRAGON!]
Calibur immediately backed away while scanning Jaou Dragon on Kurayami, having to step back further from the small bits of rubble being flung from the barely avoided slash. He then holstered his blade and held out his hand, a dark pulse being unleashed as dark clouds began engulfing the two Riders.
Saber could only lightly gasp as they were now in a strange dark realm, "What?"
[KURAYAMI HISSATSU GEKI!]
The eyes of Calibur's visor shined brightly before he summoned the four gold dragons of Jaou Dragon. All of them soon launched out slamming into each of King of Arthur's limbs before bursting into gold energy. Their shapes changed as they soon became gold chains that tied King of Arthur down, the giant robot being unable to move even with its struggling.
"W-What is this?" Saber gave a gasp as he felt the King of Arthur struggle to move.
"Power you can't hope to ever stand up to," Calibur answered as he ran forward before leaping into the air and kicking out. His right leg was enveloped in a bright purple energy as he struck against the King of Arthur's chest, sparks flying before he yelled and kicked through. Soon enough the surrounding dark clouds that made up the strange area gathered into the spot where he kicked before exploding out.
[SHUUTOKU ISSEN!]
Saber yelled out as he was thrown away, rolling against the ground and reverting back to his base form of Brave Dragon.
"I hope you see now, the despair awaiting you if you continue this foolish fight," Calibur said as he turned towards Saber, "I will obtain the truth I seek this time, and you won't be able to stop me."
"What was that?" Saber coughed out as he stabbed Rekka into the ground, getting himself into a kneeling stance.
"The power you obtained from Avalon while strong, can no longer match me," Calibur replied, "And your other strongest form is nothing but a far off miracle. You can't stop me."
"Like hell I can't…" Saber coughed out as he began to fully stand up, the Kaenken Rekka's emblem began to pulsate ever so slightly at his words, "Your tirade with the Megid… with Carol… all this destruction just for the truth… I'll put a stop to it all! I promise you that!"
"I'd like to see you try," Calibur said as he turned and sliced the air in front of him, he opened up a dark portal before walking through it.
Saber let out a raspy breath as he hunched over, somewhat relieved the fight didn't continue. While King of Arthur took most of the damage he was still hurt by the attack.
"Touma come in, are you alright?!"
Saber heard Genjuro's voice and put a hand to his helmet, "Commander?"
"We didn't want to interrupt but Calibur's signal just vanished," Genjuro said, "Are you alright? Do we need to send a medical team?"
"I'll be fine," Saber informed, "I guess Calibur just wanted to show me how strong he's gotten…"
"Good, because I need you to mobilize immediately," Genjuro said.
"Hibiki's under attack by one of the Autoscorer's and she can't bring out Gungnir," Sophia explained.
Saber's eyes widened behind his mask, "What?!"
"We'll direct you there, Ogawa is already on his way with Kento but they could use some more backup," Genjuro replied.
"Leave it to me!" Saber called out as he brought out the Diago Speedy, revving it up before taking off while following SONG's directions.
Meanwhile there was some hope for Hibiki, Miku and their grouping of friends in their current situation. Shiori of all people had managed to trick Garie into allowing her, Kuriyo, and Yumi to leave by having the Alca-Noise back away and leave an opening. Of course immediately Kuriyo had grabbed Miku's wrist to drag her off as Shiori, Yumi and Hibiki all followed, all five girls running off towards the side to try and escape.
Garie herself wasn't the most amused by this, mostly in that she couldn't believe she had fallen for that trick.
"You get brave at the weirdest times!" Yumi called out as she ran.
"You were a different person compared to the school festival last year," Kuriyo agreed.
"Was that an act back there?" Miku asked.
"It's only right that we should be the ones saving Bikki every now and then, right?" Kuriyo answered.
"Not to brag, but it was a pretty nice plan," Shiori admitted.
Garie had allowed them to run, keeping her same expression before a smug smile crossed her face, "And now, after giving you hope, I'll snatch it away again."
With a single raised arm, she was able to order the Alca-Noise to charge, the creatures extending their tendril like hands and destroying everything in their path. Garie meanwhile formed a thin layer of ice to skate forward on.
"Seeing your hope give way to despair might bring out that fighting spirit of hers, don't you think?" Garie asked with a chuckle.
"This isn't an anime!" Yumi called out in annoyance.
One of the Alca-Noise lashed out, it whipping the ground near Hibiki and managing to strike at her shoe. The result tripped Hibiki up, the shoe disintegrating as she fell on her back. The resulting trip had ended up send her Gear Pendant flying.
Hibiki's eyes widened, "My Gear!"
Something briefly blocked out the sun for a moment, a waving sheet of what looked to be a large carpet as three figures dropped down.
[IKAZUCHI BATTOU!]
[SOU TOU BUNDAN!]
A few of the lead Alca-Noise went to charge forward, attempting to strike at Hibiki now that she was down. Before they could get any closer, lightning strikes rained down, destroying them as
Maria was the first to be seen, grabbing at the Gungnir Pendant and reciting the Holy Chant with ease.
"Granzizel bilfen Gungnir zizzl~"
[TOGE! TOGE! LAMP DO HEDGEHOG!]
[FUUSOUKEN HAYATE!]
Espada soon landed between Garie, the remaining Alca-Noise and Hibiki, clad in his two book form of Lamp do Hedgehog. Kenzan landed next to him in his base form. Landing between them in a flash of black light was Maria, the light fading to reveal she had yet again donned the black Gungnir armor. The armor had slightly changed as a result of its time with a different user, but one important factor was that she no longer had her cloak, having no need to hide behind its protection like before.
Maria wasted no time in clasping her hands together, her gauntlets combining together and launching off of her arms to form her spear. She gripped it as it opened up, energy gathering within its opening.
{HORIZON†SPEAR}
A purple beam was unleashed outwards, shredding through the Alca-Noise and causing a large explosion. Espada and Kenzan rushed in, the two using their nimble natures to their advantage to slice through the remaining Alca-Noise that Maria had missed.
'So long as I have this power, I can fight,' Maria thought as she moved in to join the Riders.
"The black Gungnir…" Hibiki muttered as she watched the two Riders and Wielder fight for her.
"Be careful!" Genjuro shouted through the comms, "Those glowing appendages cause matter to break down on contact! Watch out for them!"
"Understood," Espada called out, "Maria!"
"No need to tell me twice!" Maria called back.
"Alright…" Garie stared intently at the three as she drew out the usual Alca-Noise crystals before drawing two more, these being similar in shape but having electricity and wind crackling within them. She then tossed both sets of crystals out, shattering the ground and summoning more Alca-Noise alongside two of the Goblin Megid. The two brought out their kanabo staffs, green wind and yellow electricity surrounding them respectively.
"That Megid from London…" Espada muttered.
"We'll match their elements," Kenzan spoke suddenly before rushing towards the Megid and Alca-Noise. He brought out Jackun before swapping out books.
[JACKUN TO DOMAMENOKI! SOU TOU BUNDAN!]
"Eh?" The Goblin Megid tilted their heads in confusion, surprised by Kenzan's choice of book.
Kenzan yelled out, unleashing bean-like projectiles that were coated in wind, forcing the Goblin Megid's to split from each other with some striking and destroying an Alca-Noise or two. Kenzan immediately leapt after the Wind Goblin, lashing out with Jackun's whip to close the distance.
The Thunder Goblin meanwhile blocked a slash from Espada who had sped forward at lightning speeds. It growled out as it slammed its staff into the ground, unleashing a burst of electricity around it. Espada however had leapt backwards before kicking out, unleashing electrical spikes that struck against the Thunder Goblin.
Maria meanwhile rushed forward, stabbing through one Alca-Noise to cut it in half before spinning and slashing through two more. While her Rider Allies were fighting their own battles she chose to handle the Alca-Noise and Garie who was pleasantly surprised by the situation.
"My, aren't you just full of surprises?" Garie asked, "That piece of junk we abandoned ended up being more useful than we expected."
Maria threw her spear to impale one of the Alca-Noise before going for more direct tactics against them. She went for punches and kicks, easily tearing through the Alca-Noises and blowing chunks off of their bodies. Eventually she had ripped her spear out of the ground and used it to slash through more of the enemy's forces.
"Maria's using my Gungnir to fight…" Hibiki murmured as she stared at the battle.
Maria jumped up before diving down towards Garie, striking with her spear. To her surprise she was blocked by a shield of ice, Garie holding her hands out to form it.
"That won't stop me!" Maria yelled as she pushed forward.
The spearhead was split in half to reveal a smaller spear in the center, the split spear forcing the barrier apart. Maria twirled her spear before stabbing at Garie again, only to be stopped by a pinpoint hexagonal barrier.
"Why don't you chill out a bit?" Garie gave a grin as more hexagons began forming alongside the one she formed. It wasn't long before she unleashed a burst of pressurized water that Maria leapt backwards to avoid the full force of.
Maria gritted her teeth, her Gear crackling with electricity due to the feedback since she also needed LiNKER to properly maintain the gear and hadn't taken any.
"Maria!" Espada called out before dodging an electrified thrust, the Thunder Goblin trying to strike at him while he was distracted. The Rider winced as his left arm was acting up again but he thought quickly, using Needle Hedgehog's speed to spin before performing a roundhouse kick against the Thunder Goblin's face.
"Don't overdo it!" Kenzan called out as he quickly launched out Jackun's vine whip, wrapping the Wind Goblin's arms up and against its body.
The Wind Goblin however laughed out, unleashing its own wind to break free of the vines. It then leapt forward and unleashed a swing that sent several blades of wind towards Kenzan. The blades struck only for a puff of smoke to occur as a log was seen falling to the ground. The Wind Goblin looked around before it was sliced into from behind, soon getting kicked onto its stomach as Kenzan had appeared behind it.
"That settles it, you're next. It's snack time!" Garie called out before dashing forward from side to side at incredible speeds, leaving trails of ice behind her. Garie could only grin as she watched Maria's eyes widen with a shocked expression. She then gathered ice around her left hand, forming an ice blade as she went to strike at the Pendant on Maria.
Fortunately for Maria, her transformation had dismissed itself before the blade could even reach her. As a result Garie had backed away. Maria however fell forward, breathing heavily as blood ran down her eyes and mouth.
"Is that all that you can do?" Garie asked before dismissing her blade before going for a taunt to try and rile Hibiki up, "What is this? Isn't there a single one of you who can actually sing? This isn't what I was told."
Miku couldn't help but glare at the remark, gripping her fists as she hated how powerless she felt at the moment. Maria was pushing herself unnecessarily, Hibiki wasn't able to sing, and the Riders were seemingly only able to break even.
Both Espada and Kenzan paused before looking to see what had happened. Thankfully Gungnir wasn't destroyed but now Maria was at the mercy of Garie, or at least that's what they thought for a few seconds.
"You boys can stay and finish your fights, I'm out of here," Garie drew out a teleportation capsule and shattering it against the ground to activate her teleportation gate, "I'm not amused."
Everyone could only watch as Garie vanished before both Espada and Kenzan glanced at each other, the two giving nods. The Wind and Thunder Goblins both yelled out, rushing towards their opponents as well.
[JACKUN TO DOMAMENOKI! NINNIN!]
[HISSATSU DOKUHA! IKAZUCHI BATTOU!]
The two Riders rushed towards their respective opponents upon the initiation of their weapons announcements.
"Hurricane Sword Dance: Beanstalk Style!" Kenzan became a blur of wind, slashing past the Wind Goblin, wind-like vine projections forming and wrapping around the Wind Goblin to hold it in place.
[HAYATE SOKUDOKU GEKI! NINNIN!]
Kenzan skidded to a stop before leaping forward again, becoming a blur of wind as he repeated this process several times. By the time he was done slashing the Wind Goblin was trapped in a cocoon of vine projections that constricted before exploding.
"I will pierce through with my conviction!" Espada stayed where he was, holding Ikazuchi up as electricity gathered, "Trueno Mil Lanza…"
"This is more like it!" The Thunder Goblin cried out in joy as it leapt towards Espada, electricity gathering in its staff.
[HEDGEHOG! ALANGINA! NISATSU GIRI! T-T-THUNDER!]
Suddenly the Lamp Do Alangina formed, various spikes surrounding its body. In an instant Espada shot upwards, piercing through the Thunder Goblin as the Lamp Do Alangina unleashed all its spikes at once. The attack struck and stunned the Megid as Espada was now behind it, turning mid air and slashing down, becoming a bolt of lightning and landing in a crouched stance.
Both Hayate and Ikazuchi began to flash a bright white as green and yellow orbs shot out of the explosions and upwards at high speeds. No one seemed to notice, that was except for Kenzan who had been paying attention for something off. He stared as Hayate's flashing began to subside and looked upwards. He just barely caught that the smoke from the explosions had looked like something had shot through them.
"What's going on…?" Kenzan muttered, he'd need to look into Touma's reports from the night of the first incident to see if he could gain some clarity.
"Spatial teleportation…" Sakuya said as he watched the battles finish on screen just as the others walked in, "Is that alchemy as well?"
"She was able to create a new form of Noise in the modern age," Elfnein spoke up, having been situated further she was now wearing a white dress that was her size, "That means she's capable of interacting with extradimensional space."
"Never mind that," Chris hurried over to Aoi, "Is everyone okay?"
"Alongside Kento and Ogawa, Maria went to their aid and used Gungnir to drive off the enemy," Aoi explained.
"She did, dess?" Kirika asked.
"But then… she'd have the same problem as us," Shirabe reminded.
"She fought, even as the Symphogear's recoil wrought havoc upon her body?" Tsubasa said as she looked at Maria who was on screen at the moment, "Does she have a death wish?"
"I suppose desperate times call for desperate measures," Daishinji said, "We're backed against a corner…"
"Where is Touma?" Rintaro asked as he looked around.
"He ran into Calibur," Sakuya spoke up causing all eyes to turn towards him, "Thankfully Calibur retreated. So he was supposed to be on route to Hibiki's location."
"Luckily Maria and the others were able to make it in time," Sophia said in relief.
Maria was currently staring at the Pendant in her hand in deep thought, 'If only I hadn't let go of the Gungnir… No. I can't dwell on past regrets.'
The Swordsmen of Thunder and Wind had dismissed their transformations at this point, Ogawa going over to check on Miku and the others while Kento hurried over to Maria.
"Maria, are you alright?" Kento asked.
"I'll manage," Maria said as she was shakily stood up, holding out a hand to keep Kento from helping her up.
"Not like that you won't," Kento grimaced when he saw the blood before ruffling around in his pockets.
"What's wrong?" Maria asked.
"Your eyes and mouth, you're bleeding from them," Kento explained as he managed to find a black cloth in his clothes. He then held it out, "Here you go."
"I know it's a dark material, but are you sure?" Maria asked.
"I usually keep it in case I need to a wrap a wound in battle," Kento said, "It would've been used to soak up blood regardless."
"Jeez, you really do act like a big brother sometimes," Maria scoffed as she took the cloth and began wiping the blood away to make herself more presentable, "Even though I'm the older one here."
"Well we should look out for each other, right?" Kento asked with a chuckle before giving a wince and holding his arm.
"Now are you alright?" Maria raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah I'll be fine…" Kento lied, "Must have taken a bad hit…"
"Make sure you get yourself checked up then," Maria suggested before turning to approach Hibiki and her friends with Kento.
Ogawa meanwhile was off to the side, once he had made sure everyone was alright he went to make several calls for cleanup.
"Are you hurt?" Maria asked, though noticed Hibiki had her back to them.
"We're fine," Kuriyo said, "But you don't seem to be in that great of shape Maria…"
"You fought and sang within an inch of your life," Yumi reminded, "Will you be alright?"
"She'll be fine," Kento reassured as he put a hand on Maria's shoulder, "We've been through a lot worse, right?"
"Right," Maria gave a smirk before holding out the Gungnir Pendant towards Hibiki, "Your Gungnir-"
"That Gungnir is mine!" Hibiki turned and snatched it away.
"Hibiki!" Miku called out in concern.
"Eh?" Kento backed up in surprise at this, "What's going on?"
"This power's supposed to be used to help people! And I'm the one it was granted to! It's my Gungnir!" Hibiki called out as she clasped it tightly between her hands. Though she soon realized how she sounded and that everyone was staring in silence, soon lowering her head before speaking up again, "I'm sorry…"
"The Gungnir is your power," Maria agreed as she walked closer before grabbing Hibiki to look at her face to face, "So don't avert your eyes from it!"
"Don't avert my eyes?" Hibiki asked.
"Good point, but…" Kento grabbed Maria by the shoulder and gently pulled her back, "You might want to step back given your face at the moment."
"Oh…" Maria muttered as she turned away to wipe her face further as it was beginning to bleed again.
"Hibiki," Kento said as he looked over at her, noticing she had looked away after a short while, "Do you know that I have a bit of a mantra I tell myself?"
"A mantra…?" Hibiki asked as she looked over.
"I try to swear to myself, that I will pierce through with my convictions," Kento held a soft smile, "Beliefs I choose to hold firmly and take into battle where they allow me to sharpen my blade and claim victory. I know you want to help people, but you can't do that if you don't hold a firm grasp of what you believe in. After all Maria wouldn't have gotten involved if you were able to truly believe in wanting to help others."
"I…" Hibiki muttered as she looked down.
"I understand where you're coming from," Kento admitted, "I was lost and confused for a time too… but eventually I managed to figure everything out. Why I was fighting, and who I was fighting for. Just take the time you need to figure things out and you'll find your answer again."
It didn't take long for revving to be heard, Saber coming to a stop nearby on the Diago Speedy. He looked at the scene before him and realized that he was late. At the very least the situation was resolved but there was still a strained feeling in the air. Things weren't better than they were before and he feared they were only going to get worse.
In a flash of light, Garie appeared on her podium and struck a pose in the throne room that Carol was in.
"Garie…" Carol said in a tense voice as she looked over at the blue Autoscorer.
"Please don't glare at me like that," Garie spoke up, "One couldn't sing at all, and the other one didn't sing for long. There'd be no point in tearing such feeble songs from their owners."
"Just don't forget the purpose for which you were made," Carol replied before thinking back on Hibiki's words.
"I don't want to use a power meant to help people for fighting."
"Do you, too, mean to die helping people?"
She also recalled how Rintaro had used his own finisher and body to protect Hibiki from the full force of her attack.
"Daydreaming?" Calibur asked as he walked into the room, still in Jaou Dragon.
"Next time, be sure to silence her and destroy her song," Carol spoke to Garie, ignoring the wielder of Kurayami, "Any further delays will affect the plan."
"The release of the ley lines… say no more," Garie spoke up with a sinister smirk before striking a cutesy pose, "Just leave it to little old me!"
"You can take Micha with you," Carol said, "She's optimized for combat, alright?"
"Okies!" Micha called out as she raised an arm.
"She wasn't asking you!" Garie called out in annoyance before giving a click of her tongue, 'If only that worthless woman's Gear hadn't fallen apart…'
"If your toys are having trouble, you'll be happy to know that we're halfway done with the backup," Calibur spoke up.
"I could care less for your status report," Carol replied, "This is my operation, understood? While your assistance is useful for making sure the Riders don't interfere, you are to know your place."
"Of course," Calibur said with a bow.
The day grew later and thankfully there were no other attacks which meant everyone could go about their business and have a quiet night. Hibiki and Miku were at their apartment, the two trying to get some rest.
Hibiki was currently staring up at the ceiling in deep though as she recalled Maria's words, but more specifically Kento's words.
"I know you want to help people, but you can't do that if you don't hold a firm grasp of what you believe in."
"Having trouble sleeping?" Miku asked.
Hibiki turned to look at Miku who was lying right next to her, "Sorry, I didn't mean to make you worry."
"You're thinking about what happened today, aren't you?" Miku asked.
"I can't fight. I'm so scared of hurting other people with my song," Hibiki answered honestly as she looked at her hand, "My weakness put you all in danger… and yet…" She clenched her fist and closed her eyes.
"It's all right," Miku said as she placed a hand on Hibiki's fist to reassure her, "I know you don't sing your songs to hurt people. Just like how Touma doesn't swing his sword to hurt people. How you two use your powers is up to you, so you should never be afraid of fighting because you're the one who decides what you do with that power."
As if to prove her point, Miku clasped Hibiki's fist with both hands before holding it close to her cheek. As a result, it didn't take long for both her and Hibiki to fall asleep.
The Next Day…
The SONG training room was lively as Tsubasa was using it to train once more. However it wasn't Daishinji that was training with her but Rintaro, the two having several sparring matches with the practice swords that Daishinji had lent them.
The two blue sword wielders were precise and strong in their strikes. Even without their armor, they were still able to put up an incredible fight for anyone that would have been watching.
"I must admit, you're fired up Tsubasa," Rintaro grinned.
"I could say the same Shindo," Tsubasa smirked, "I suppose you're trying to keep yourself in shape despite your injuries?"
"They've mostly healed thankfully," Rintaro admitted, "I must admit I foolishly thought that losing your ability to transform would have stricken you much harder than this."
"I know that if I'm to reach out to Kanade again… I need to stay strong," Tsubasa explained.
"Then let us continue," Rintaro said, "If I am to make sure I protect my precious family then I too must stay strong."
The two blue sword wielders soon yelled out before rushing at each other, clashing wooden blades together as they tried to overtake one another.
"Thank you for allowing me to use your workshop," Elfnein gave a bow.
"It's no issue, if we'll be working together beyond this you might as well get used to things around here," Daishinji said as he was currently making sure everything was sorted, alongside looking over a glass container that held a keypad lock to it.
The container was used for Ride Book storage, but in particular it currently held a collection of the Wonder Ride Books they had collected from the ones that had been used to guard Avalon. So far seven books in particular had been recovered…
'Daiyokuzuna Kinzaburou'
'Daishougun Momoichirou'
'Daishogun Ruashimajirou'
'Issun Bushi'
'Bakusou Usagi to Kame'
'Sakurani Wars'
'Tsuki no Hime Kaguyan'
While only managing to find seven of the thirteen, and while none of them were Ultimate Bahamut, it was still a good collection of Books that they had.
"So you'll be able to repair the Gears?" Daishinji asked as he stared at the case.
"Repair and modify," Elfnein added as she walked over.
"I'll help you however I can," Daishinji said, "After all I am the head of the science department technically. But I was wondering if it was possible to add onto your potential plans?"
"Add on?" Elfnein asked.
Touma and Kento were currently having lunch at a café, the two deciding to catch up a bit since there hadn't been much time in the past couple of days to do so.
"I'm surprised you aren't with Maria today," Touma said before taking a bite out of his sandwich.
"They're visiting Nastassja's grave today," Kento replied as he picked at a salad he was eating, "I felt like I'd be getting in the way to be honest…"
"Are you… doing alright?" Touma asked, noticing that his friend seemed a bit paler than usual.
"I am," Kento reassured despite that not being the case. He woke up a lot weaker than he normally would and the stinging in his arm was irritating him to no end.
Unfortunately he knew he couldn't keep up the act forever since Maria had forced him to get checked up after they got back to SONG the prior day. If there was any change they'd know and he'd likely get taken off as a field agent as a result. He needed to resolve things soon, and hoped that the medical results would take a while to come in.
"I just hope Hibiki's going to be okay," Touma sighed, "She seemed really out of it."
"You really care about her, huh?" Kento asked.
"She's one of my precious friends," Touma gave a smile before looking at Kento, "Just like you and Luna."
"Of course," Kento smiled before looking out the window, despite the dark clouds in the sky and it starting to rain he couldn't help but smile, "I'm sure we'll find her one day."
"I mean we never thought we'd meet again, right?" Touma asked.
"Hey, about Hibiki," Kento suddenly changed subjects, "I'm sure she'll be alright. She just needs to think about a few things… but given what you say about her, I'm sure she can bounce back."
"Right," Touma gave a smile.
As the day grew later, Elfnein was at SONG Headquarters currently briefing the members of SONG that were onboard at the moment alongside Genjuro and Sophia. On the various monitors was video footage of the three Autoscorers they had faced.
"The one who attacked Hibiki a few days ago is Garie," Elfnein explained, "And the one who fought Chris and Touma is Leiur. There's also Phara, who Tsubasa and Kento confronted in London, finally there's Micha who hasn't shown herself yet. These four are the Autoscorer's under Carol's command."
"So we can't even handle playing with her dolls?" Chris asked.
"So they're likely high level like the Megid Generals in terms of combat capabilities," Rintaro mused.
"Then these mechanical dolls are like knights protecting the princess?" Ogawa asked.
"That's a good way of putting it," Daishinji said, "But that 'princess' is no joke in terms of power herself given what we saw her do against a Wonder Combo."
"I have no record of their specifications or other details," Elfnein explained, "But…"
"Given how they fared against our Symphogears in battle, it is clear they possess overwhelming power," Tsubasa said, "And if they are of the level of the Megid Generals… that bodes poorly for what that meant when it came to our prior fights with Legeiel and Zooous…"
"Not to mention that creep Storious," Chris replied.
"They could have been holding back," Sophia agreed.
"Still, dealing with supernatural threats is our job," Genjuro replied, "Elfnein alongside some input by Daishinji have proposed plans by which we can overcome this crisis."
Everyone turned towards the small homunculus, the main screen lighting up with big bold red letters for the plan.
PROJECT IGNITE
…
…
PROJECT RIDE GEAR
Everyone was surprised by the dramatic flare up of Project Ignite before it then made itself smaller. The window shrunk slightly as a new window showed Project Ride Gear right underneath it.
"Project Ignite," Genjuro said, "And Project Ride Gear."
"Two plans…?" Tsubasa asked.
Hibiki and Miku were currently walking through the rain, Miku holding the umbrella to keep the two from getting wet. Her thoughts were on lunch with her friends earlier, how Kuriyo had suggested that maybe Hibiki had forgotten why she sung in the first place.
"Are you still afraid to sing?" Miku asked.
"Yeah," Hibiki said, "I can't stop worrying that I might hurt people."
"Do you remember the first time you used your Symphogear?" Miku asked.
"Kind of," Hibiki said, "I didn't really have time to think about this stuff back then."
"Did you sing back then because you wanted to hurt people?" Miku asked though when she didn't get an answer she still decided to keep speaking, "Do you remember why Touma became Saber?"
"Huh?" Hibiki asked, "I think I do… but it's been so long…"
"He told me after you two met up briefly and went your own ways, Noise attacked," Miku explained without a hint of doubt in her voice, "Then he was desperately trying to get to you when he found a Megid. In order to try and get to you and protect you he transformed and became a Kamen Rider."
"I see…" Hibiki muttered.
"He never wanted to fight to hurt people," Miku shook her head, "And I'd like to think you're the same."
Back at SONG Headquarters, everyone was given a brief rundown of what was going to happen with both projects.
"The Ignite Module… is this really possible?" Ogawa asked.
"Theoretically, yes, through the application of alchemy," Elfnein replied, "Equivalent exchange: with great risk comes great reward. That is the purpose of the enchanted blade, Dáinsleif."
"And by adding a blade into the Symphogear's themselves… new possibilities are available," Daishinji finally spoke up.
"Right, so that Ride Gear thing…" Chris said as she raised an eyebrow, "What made you come up with that?"
"I think it's time to truly unite our technology now that we have a way to do so," Daishinji answered, "We have been fighting together for a while now after all."
"It would be a great boost to our fighters," Sophia agreed.
EMERGENCY ALERT
ALCA-NOISE
"Alca-Noise detected!" Sakuya shouted.
"Location identified!" Aoi shouted as well, "Putting it on screen!"
It wasn't long before the group received visual of Hibiki and Miku being chased by a red Autoscorer.
"They've finally activated Micha as well," Elfnein said.
"Oh hell," Chris said.
"Shall we deploy?" Rintaro asked.
"Touma and Kento should be in the city," Genjuro said, "Contact them now!"
Aoi was ready to speak up when she suddenly received an alert on her monitor, quickly going to check on the information she was receiving.
"Roger!" Sakuya called out before managing to get a communications line going through to both Riders.
"Touma here," Touma spoke up.
"Kento here as well," Kento answered.
"Hibiki and Miku are in danger, Carol has deployed the last Autoscorer and several Alca-Noise against them," Genjuro replied, "You two are to support them now!"
"Understood, we're on our way!" Touma called out as he hung up alongside Kento.
"Now let's get to work on mobilizing everyone else," Genjuro said, "They can hold the line but if Calibur shows up we're in trouble."
"Blades, Slash," Sophia looked over, "Go with Bus-"
"This is!" Aoi shouted as she quickly turned, "Commanders!"
"What is it?" Genjuro asked.
"The Medical Check results for Kento just came in!" Aoi called out though she had a grave tone and expression.
Genjuro noticed it almost immediately, "What's wrong?"
Kanade was currently standing on a rooftop, having her cloak on and covering her head so that she'd be protected from the rain. She held Kyomu in her hand and gripped it tightly. The prior day she had heard the sounds of fighting and attempted to arrive as fast as possible, but she was getting more sluggish than usual. As a result she ended up missing most of the fight and could only watch as the fight ended just as she arrived a fair distance away from the area.
So she was currently keeping watch on the city, trying to be vigilant. With all the Wielders being targeted she knew she couldn't afford to slip up again.
"You know you shouldn't be out in the rain even with that cloak."
"Huh?" Kanade turned at the familiar voice, watching Reika walk over while holding an umbrella.
"I managed to convince the Master to allow us to give you some space," Reika said, "I was hoping that maybe after a while on your own you'd consider coming back if I asked."
"My answer is the same as before," Kanade said as she turned away.
"Kanade… the Master knows you've been struggling more recently," Reika spoke in a more serious tone, "You're going to hurt yourself at this rate."
"Maybe… but I won't be satisfied until I find out who I truly am," Kanade answered, "I'm sure you of all people know how frustrating it is to not remember."
"Those memories do nothing but cause pain," Reika gave a frown, "You should know how that feels."
"And yet I still want to find out," Kanade replied, "Maybe the truth hurts, but I'd rather know who I truly am than just living a lie."
"You really think your current life is a lie?" Reika asked.
"This isn't who I am," Kanade shook her head.
"That may be the case but…" Reika said before something caught her eye, "Huh?"
"Looks like they're back at it," Kanade said as she saw what had distracted Reika, several obvious flashes of pink light occurring in one of the streets down below. She threw her cloak back, revealing that she already had her Bladriver and Eternal Phoenix Ride Book already set, "Henshin!"
[BATTOU!]
"Kanade, wait!" Reika called out as she stepped forward only for her former ally to burst into flames. She could only watch as Kanade became a fiery phoenix that launched up into the rainy sky, blazing forward despite the water falling on it. She could only frown, "Kanade…"
As soon as he had hung up, Touma had brought out the Diago Speedy for him and Kento to use before speeding off on it. Due to a few screams and loud crashes nearby, they were able to pinpoint the general area of where Hibiki and Miku were being chased.
A plume of darkness appeared in front of them just as they drew closer to the location. Touma was forced to slow down and come to a halt as Kamijo walked out of the darkness.
"Daichi Kamijo…" Touma muttered.
"I will not let you pass," Kamijo answered as he kept a tight grip on Kurayami.
"Damn it we don't have time for this," Touma hissed out before he felt a hand on his shoulder, "Kento?"
"I'll stall him," Kento said as he dismounted the Diago Speedy in a shaky fashion, despite this he forced himself to stay steady, "I know how that form works. I can at least buy you the time needed to help your friend."
"Kento that's crazy!" Touma called out with clear concern, not liking how off his friend looked at the moment, "I'm not going to let myself let a friend get hurt just to help another!"
"Touma!" Kento called out as he stepped forward to face Kamijo, "Trust in me, alright?"
"But still…" Touma said.
"We'll make a promise then," Kento chuckled as he prepared his Swordriver, "I promise that one day we'll find Luna together, the three of us will be together again. But it won't just be the three of us anymore, because we'll be able to introduce her to all the friends we've made. Rintaro, Maria, Hibiki, Miku…"
"Kento…" Touma muttered before nodding and quickly swerving around, driving off in the opposite direction to avoid getting targeted by Calibur as he'd take a slightly longer route to get to Hibiki and Miku.
"It doesn't matter if he reaches her," Kamijo said, "But given how you look, it seems like you know why I'm here."
"What exactly did you do to me?" Kento asked.
"I fear that this plan of mine may end in disaster," Kamijo admitted in a cryptic fashion, "Which is why I need you, Kento. You are your father's son after all."
"I'm not about to be your puppet!" Kento called out before readying all three of his Wonder Ride Books before gripping Ikazuchi and drawing it out.
[IKAZUCHI BATTOU!]
"Henshin!"
[LAMP DO MAGIN GA SHIN NO CHIKARA WO HAKKI SURU! GOLDEN ALANGINA!]
With Ikazuchi held high, lightning struck down from the cloudy sky, transforming the swordsman into Kamen Rider Espada Golden Alangina.
[JAOU READ! ANKOKUKEN KURAYAMI!]
Kamijo had set up his transformation before slashing forward, "Henshin!"
[JUMP OUT THE BOOK, OPEN IT AND BURST. THE FEAR OF THE DARKNESS. YOU MAKE RIGHT A JUST, NO MATTER DARK JOKE. FURY IN THE DARK~!]
The five dragons of the book circled around the dark swordsman, coming together to form Kamen Rider Calibur Jaou Dragon.
[JAOU DRAGON!]
Espada yelled out as he rushed forward, leaping into the air in a flash of lightning before shooting down against Calibur at high speeds while slashing. Despite this Calibur swung his sword, both of them clashing their Seiken against one another as they commenced their battle.
"An enemy attack?" Maria asked as she was immediately contacted by SONG.
"But from where we are now…" Shirabe realized.
"…we can't get there in time, dess!" Kirika called out.
"Yes but that's not why we're calling, while Kirika and Shirabe are still not allowed to use their Gear's we still need you three to mobilize since you're at least somewhat closer than we are," Sophia replied.
"Why, what's wrong?" Maria asked.
"Touma and Kento have been deployed," Genjuro replied, "But Kento… you need to find them and keep Kento from fighting!"
Maria's eyes widened when she heard this, and it all started to make sense. Kento's strange actions after the London incident and their most recent battle the day prior…
"Understood, we'll try and get there as fast as we can!" Maria called out before hanging up and hurrying off, "Let's go!"
Kirika and Shirabe both glanced at each other with worrying looks, wondering what exactly it was that was wrong before following after Maria.
Hibiki and Miku had attempted to take shelter in a construction zone by climbing as high as they could, though Micha was still hot on their tails with the Alca-Noise. One Alca-Noise had lashed out with its tendrils, disintegrating the stairs that Hibiki was attempting to climb.
"Hibiki!" Miku shouted, watching as Hibiki fell and crashed through several handrails.
Hibiki yelled out before giving a grunt, landing hard on her back against a pile of debris. She could only wince, opening up an eye and seeing Miku high up, "Miku…"
Micha leaned over, "If you won't be a good girl and fight me, I'll have to start taking apart the things you love. And if tearing your dear, sweet friend to pieces doesn't do the trick, I'll have to take apart the townspeople, and even the poor little doggies and kitties too!"
Hibiki shakily stood up before drawing out her Pendant, attempting to sing Gungnir's chant only to start choking as she struggled to do so.
"Still not taking me seriously?" Micha asked, "Well then-"
"HAH!"
Micha quickly raised her claws to block a sword strike, the owner being none other than Falchion who was trying to cut through the Autoscorer.
"You aren't going anywhere near them," Falchion hissed out as she tried to push forward.
"K-Kanade?!" Hibiki's eyes widened when she saw the Rider before her.
"Boo," Micha whined as she pushed Falchion's blade away, "I'm not here to play with you!"
"Well too bad!" Falchion called out as she rushed forward to strike at Micha and keep her distracted.
Miku couldn't help but feel the situation was growing out of control, and there wasn't much she could do. But there was still at least one thing she could do however now that Falchion was distracting Micha, "Listen to me, Hibiki!"
Hibiki looked up in surprise, "Huh?"
"You don't sing your songs to hurt people!" Miku shouted, "And I know you've always held out your hand to help people, not to harm them! I know that most of all! Because I fought you, and you saved me! And it wasn't just me! There are so many people who were saved by your songs! People who are only here because of them! So don't be afraid!"
Falchion cried out in pain as she was struck in the chest, sparks flying as she leapt away from Micha. In her current state and at the level the Autoscorer was, she was starting to realize that she was going to be outmatched. She would just have to hope that Miku's words would reach Hibiki.
"Hehe… I've got you now!" Micha called out while launching herself at Falchion.
Falchion was ready to dodge but suddenly glanced back and realized that she had positioned herself in front of Hibiki with her last dodge. The entire area changed for the phoenix Rider, it was now a desolate stadium with nothing but hordes of Noise while Hibiki was much younger as well. And she was in…
"KANADE!"
Falchion quickly broke out of her stupor when she heard Hibiki scream her name. Quickly raising Kyomu she used it to block against Micha who had created a large burning crystal before using it to lunge at her. Despite her defense, her arms began to give out as Micha was able to force the crystal past Kyomu, striking the owner of the Mumeiken Kyomu in the chest before tearing through and digging it into Falchion's armor.
"Game over!" Micha called out as she tossed the crystal embedded Falchion off to the side.
Falchion could only yell out as she hit the ground hard, her body bursting into fire as she exploded. Once the fire and smoke cleared, the only things left were the Mumeiken Kyomu and Eternal Phoenix. There were a few sparks from Kyomu but after what seemed like too long, that was all there was. It seemed as though Falchion was unable to resurrect immediately.
"Kanade…" Hibiki's eyes widened.
"Still nothing?" Micha pouted before turning towards Miku and leaping towards her, "Fine then! You're outta here!"
Upon Micha's command the Alca-Noise that were nearby launched upwards and destroyed the platform that Miku was on, sending her free falling as a result.
Hibiki's could only let out a strong yell in that moment while running forward, "Balwisyall nescell Gungnir TROOOOOOOOOOOOON!"
Debris fell alongside Miku as a flash of light occurred. Soon enough Hibiki shot out of the light, transformed once more and catching Miku in her arms. She soon landed as debris fell around them, holding Miku in her arms. As a result of various parts of the structure collapsing, rainwater that had built up in the building soon poured out and splashed against the ground behind the two.
"I'm sorry," Hibiki told her friend as she fully stood up and gave a confident smile, "I was trying to run away from the responsibility that comes with power. But I won't hesitate anymore. So please… listen to my song!"
Back at SONG Headquarters, Rintaro, Daishinji, Ogawa and Genjuro had immediately deployed once they had contacted Maria. That left Sophia with Elfnein, Chris and Tsubasa, the trio looking at the current situations.
Tsubasa remained silent, especially at what had happened with Falchion.
"She really is a hopeless idiot, huh?" Chris remarked as she saw the transformation.
"She's back at least," Sophia smiled only for that expression to turn into a grimace as there was one other feed they were looking at which was Espada fighting against Calibur. Despite attempting to contact him via the suit's communications network, Kento had completely shut them out, "Espada…"
Unfortunately while Hibiki seemed to be going strong, Kento wasn't exactly holding up as well. Everyone was worried, especially since Kento as Espada was more sluggish than usual. Though given what they had just learned via his test results…
Espada gasped out as he was thrown to the ground and sent rolling. Despite this he withdrew Needle Hedgehog and scanned it on the tip of his Seiken.
[HEDGEHOG! MM-HM! SHUUTOKU ISSEN!]
Getting up Espada stabbed forward, unleashing a legion of electrical spikes towards Calibur. To his surprise Calibur had spun, the cape of Jaou Dragon enveloping the electrical spikes in darkness and absorbing them.
Calibur shouted, a horde of dark electrical spikes launching out from his cape and striking Espada numerous times before an explosion occurred.
Kento yelled out as he was thrown out of the explosion, various scrapes and scratches on him now as a dark aura began to surround his body. He grunted out in pain as he still kept somewhat of a grip on his sword, but was lying on the pavement facedown.
"I'm not done yet… even if it costs me my life, I will defeat you…!" Kento called out in defiance, ignoring the constant buzzing in his pockets of his Gattrike phone. He stabbed Ikazuchi into the ground to allow him to lift himself up better "I'll do it for my dad… for those at SONG… for Touma and our friends!"
"Touma Kamiyama…" Calibur spoke up as he mused on the events that led them all up to this point, "I never would have guessed that the boy I saved would eventually wield Kaenken Rekka. He's grown exponentially, but if he or anyone else dares stand in my way… then I shall cut them down without mercy."
"No, you won't… I won't let you!" Kento said as he gripped Ikazuchi tightly while forcing himself to stand up, he then slotted Ikazuchi into his Swordriver before drawing it out, "I won't let you lay a single finger on Touma or his precious friends!"
[IKAZUCHI BATTOU!]
"HENSHIN!"
[GOLDEN ALANGINA!]
Electricity crackled around the swordsman as images of a Cerberus, Hedgehog and the Lamp do Alangina appeared before forming the armor of Espada Golden Alangina once more. He shakily pointed his sword forward as he stared down Calibur, "I will pierce through with my conviction!"
[HISSATSU DOKUHA!]
[JAOU! HISSATSU DOKUHA!]
Espada went to initiate his finisher for one last stand, he was going to defeat Calibur even if it cost him his life. Calibur meanwhile went to activate Jaou Dragon's finisher, closing the book.
[IKAZUCHI BATTOU! CERBERUS! HEDGEHOG! ALANGINA!]
Espada raised his left arm, dragging the flat of Ikazuchi along it as electricity began gathering in the Seiken at an alarming rate. It shined a bright yellow as Espada steeled himself for the coming clash.
[JAOU HISSATSU GEKI!]
Calibur then pressed down on his buckle with Kurayami, opening the book up again as dark energy erupted out of it and spiraled all around him.
Arriving at around the same time was Maria, Kirika and Shirabe, their eyes widening as they saw the standoff between both Swordsmen.
"Kento!" Maria called out hoping to catch his attention and stop him.
Espada rushed forward, disappearing in a flash as Calibur swung forward, the four gold dragons of Jaou Dragon launching out at the Swordsman of Thunder. Espada dashed from side to side before launching upwards.
[SANSATSU GIRI! T-T-T-THUNDER!]
Despite the golden dragons following after him, several electrical strikes from his sword managed to bat them away as he began to freefall towards Calibur.
[YOU ARE OVER!]
Calibur then slashed upwards, unleashing the Jaou Dragon towards Espada, ready to crush the Swordsman within its gaping maw.
"HAAH!"
With one mighty yell, Espada began a giant burst of lightning that struck Jaou Dragon right as it reached him. Darkness and Lightning clashed as they created a blinding white light that forced Maria, Kirika, and Shirabe to shield their eyes.
Touma gritted his teeth as he was arriving closer and closer to where he heard the sounds of fighting. There was a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, especially as he drew closer. He eventually managed to close in on the construction zone only for a big burst of energy to shatter the roof.
"No…" Touma muttered as he quickly put his foot on the gas and sped forward. The closer and closer he got he heard the familiar screams of Miku. He quickly readied his Swordriver and Brave Dragon, "Henshin!"
[REKKA BATTOU! BRAVE DRAGON~!]
Saber immediately busted through into the building just as he saw someone crash into the ground with Miku running over. His eyes widened beneath his mask as he realized he arrived too late. With a quick leap off of the Diago Speedy, he spotted Micha and yelled out as he dropped towards her while swinging Rekka.
Micha giggled as she quickly raised her arm to block against the slash, pushing back and forcing Saber to land in a kneeling stance.
"Ooh, do you want to play?" Micha asked, "That last sword person was boring!"
"Huh?" Saber looked before seeing Kyomu and Eternal Phoenix on the ground, drawing out both Storm Eagle and Saiyuu Journey as he fully stood, "You…"
In an instant a shard of ice had slammed into his hand holding the books, knocking them out of his hands. He quickly began looking around, only to notice Garie hidden behind one of the pillars. It was then that he put two and two together, realizing how exactly Hibiki could have lost a straightforward fight so easily.
"Micha we're heading back, we've got our job done," Garie called out as she brought out a teleportation capsule.
"Okie…" Micha frowned before giving a childish grin and looking at Saber as she brought out a teleportation capsule, "Next time we meet you better make it fun alright?!"
"…" Saber began to rise up and move towards Micha, but before he could get close, flashes of pink light occurred with both Garie and Micha warping away, "Damn it…" He muttered as he fell to his knees and slammed his fist against the ground.
"No!" Miku screamed out as she tried to get a response out of her friend, tears welling up, "Hibiki! Wake up! Hibiki! HIBIKI!"
The area began to darken as more clouds rolled in, rain starting to pour. And despite the deafening sounds of both Miku's screams and the rain, Saber's head jolted up when he heard an echoing scream nearby. A shiver went down his spine however as he just barely recognized the voice.
"Maria…?" Saber muttered before his grip slacked, Rekka falling to the ground as the realization hit, "Kento…?"
Watching both tragedies unfold from separate buildings were Tassel and the hooded man from Avalon. While Tassel had his umbrella, the man simply had his cloak to keep him dry. The two could only look at each other despite the distance. While the hooded man's face was hard to read due to how it was covered, Tassel's was one of worry.
To Be Continued…
Author's Note: What, you thought that brief snippet of how Kanade got Eternal Phoenix would be the last? Figured I'd detail that little bit of what happened a bit more so I spread them out in key chapters. Speaking of Kanade though, man she got it rough this chapter as her own personal story starts progressing further and further.
With some Kanade cleanup done, let's talk placements for how certain events go in Saber. It's a changing landscape that I only start figuring out when I'm writing certain chapters. There are a few points in S1 that ended up differently that I may talk about later if I haven't already. I'll have to go back and read my notes. Point is, when it came to Espada vs. Calibur and their dramatic one on one duel… I knew it had to be at this specific point in time. When it came to a crushing loss after just barely hanging on? I knew that this particular fight had to be the one that happened alongside Hibiki's brief return to battle.
Things are not looking good in the slightest for SONG, even with available Riders to spare compared to in canon where only Shirabe and Kirika were left as the only fighters. But it's not like they're completely on the back foot as they've got not just one but two special projects lined up. With that said thanks for reading and I'll see you all for the next chapter.