Sympho-Saber: Song of Swords
RXU:EP04 – The Right Hand of Logos
Saber and Slash continued to stare each other down as if they were in a true standoff. Saber recalled his ally's words, how to go full offensive and hit with his strongest attacks. He knew that the Swordsman of Sound was serious about this sudden training if he was supposed to go all out.
The two charged towards each other, swinging and ducking forward as their swords slipped past the other, both now back to back. Saber turned and began swinging and swiping as fast as he could against Slash.
Slash however had the situation under control, using minimal movements and using his sword to redirect the swings Saber sent out. The two danced around each other, Saber stumbling forward more often than not as Slash used the Swordsman of Flames' momentum to his advantage. It wasn't long before the two crossed blades with each other.
Saber let out a chuckle, "Impressive, as usual."
"There's something I realized I never truly drilled into you," Slash admitted before forcing Saber away and slashing, forcing Saber to dodge back into a crouched state.
[HISSATSU DOKUHA! REKKA BATTOU!]
"And that is?" Saber questioned as he decided to keep up the battle while conversing, initiating Rekka's finisher via the Swordriver. He then yelled out, fire erupting from his blade as he sent out a fiery crescent wave towards his opponent.
[DRAGON! EAGLE! SAIYUU JA! SANSATSU GIRI! F-F-F-FIRE!]
Slash braced against the fiery wave, backing up as Suzune shined brightly. He turned his last step back into a spin as a guitar riff was heard, spinning his Seiken in his hand as he dispersed the fire with enough effort.
"The more defensive nature of a Swordsman," Slash explained as he held Suzune forward, "I suppose you know the dual phrase, a good defense…"
"…can serve as a good offense," Saber realized before watching as his teacher/opponent gestured for him to come forward. He realized that he needed to continue and decided to go for a form that he hadn't used for a bit, swapping out his Wonder Combo Books for King of Arthur.
[REKKA BATTOU! WONDER RIDER! DRAGON! ARTHUR OU!]
Saber's Wonder Combo armor flickered into flames as a blue light shined on his left side, armoring him with King of Arthur's armor alongside summoning the gigantic Kingexcalibur.
The Kingexcalibur crashed down upon Slash who quickly held up Suzune while shifting slightly, managing to use Suzune to slide the gigantic blade to the side, Kingexcalibur's tip smashing into the ground.
Saber swung again, going for a low horizontal swipe which Slash dodged by simply leaping up into the air while spinning, soon landing in a crouched state.
Saber swung both of his swords this time, the Kingexcalibur launching towards Slash for a stab.
[KING SLASH!]
"There we go," Slash muttered as he strummed his fingers across Suzune's blade in a fast rhythm before swinging forward as if he was waving a conductor's wand. Colorful sets of musical notes began gathering into a circular shield that blocked the attack. He gathered more musical energy into his blade, flipping back with a spin before slashing forward, releasing all the built up energy, "Burn my movements into your being!"
The result was the Kingexcalibur being wrapped in gold musical notes, the gigantic sword being bounced back and redirected against Saber. Saber gasped out as he braced with both Rekka and the Kingexcalibur he wielded, the gigantic version soon exploding out and forcing the Swordsman of Flames back.
"Incredible…" Miku muttered in slight awe at the sparring that was going on. She was impressed by Saber's raw power, but Slash's technique in matching that was beyond what she was expecting.
"One more time," Slash said.
"Understood," Saber nodded as he shakily stood up and brought out Dragonic Knight before preparing it, "I'll go full force."
[REKKA BATTOU! DON'T MISS IT! DRAGONIC KNIGHT~!]
Saber raised his left hand up, gripping the Dragonic Booster tightly as fire gathered around his fist. He then punched forward, unleashing a powerful stream of fire towards Slash.
Slash simply swung forward twice, a guitar riff being heard as musical energy formed and crossed together to form a circular barrier that defended him against the fire.
"Huh, like this and this" Miku said as she absentmindedly waved her hand around as if mimicking the movements, "Daishinji really is incredible."
"Have you got the gist of it?" Slash asked, "Your element may not be sound, but if you focus your element around an opponent's attack… well, you've seen how effective it can be."
"I do," Saber nodded, realizing how exactly he could incorporate the advice into his fighting style. He then went to dismiss his transformation, "Thanks."
"I understand the situation is pretty grave," Slash admitted, "However we have a lot of allies now, and I figured you being prepared would be best given you are working with the Sword of Light."
"Of course," Touma said before realizing something, "Oh right, what were you and Miku doing here anyway?" he asked as he looked over before noticing that Miku was in workout attire, "It didn't seem to be an errand of sorts…"
"Oh uh I…" Miku wasn't exactly sure what to say as she realized that Touma had finally managed to inspect the situation enough to start asking questions.
"Touma," Slash spoke up suddenly, "I know I said we have a lot of allies now, but you really shouldn't waste much more time."
"Ah that's right," Touma realized before quickly hurrying off and taking out his phone, "I need to see if anyone's spotted the Megid!"
"Phew…" Miku breathed a sigh of relief as she went to sit on her knees while Slash approached her, the Rider dismissing the transformation as she looked up, "Thanks Daishinji."
"You're lucky there was a Megid around," Daishinji remarked, "But he's going to find out eventually alongside all the others."
"I know," Miku sighed further.
"Again, I can only teach you so much on my own," Daishinji reminded before crossing his arms, "Sometimes I wish Tsubasa wasn't so fast in her decisions… she would've been a great teacher to have you learn from as well."
"True, but I think it's only right that Tsubasa gets to do what she wants," Miku replied, "Especially with all the interruptions."
"True, I'm sure Maria and her are enjoying their time in London at the moment," Daishinji mused.
[SAI KAIJI!]
Tsubasa and Maria both cried out as they were struck by Durendal's trident, sparks flying as they were sent staggering away from each other and their opponent.
"What was that?" Tsubasa questioned.
Maria raised an eyebrow, "Teleportation?"
"A-Ah…" the alchemist managed to stand up with a smile, "T-Thank you so much for your assistance Durendal."
"Your gratitude is misplaced," Durendal remarked as he aimed his trident towards the Alchemist who backed up in surprise, "Master Logos decreed that I was allowed to get rid of anyone who could spoil our plans. That includes lowly alchemists who think they'll get any second chances after leading an enemy into our territory."
"N-No way…" The Alchemist backed up before running off, "No! No I'm still useful!"
"Pathetic," Durendal said as he was ready to pursue when he saw a bright light out of the corner of his eye, quickly spinning his trident and bracing against a pink cross-slash of energy.
{FIERCE†SCAR}
Durendal yelled out, his Seiken shining brightly as he dispersed the energy. Soon enough he saw that it was Maria who had attacked him.
"Sorry to say but you can't exactly start dealing with us and not expect us to get in your way," Maria remarked, "Tsubasa, get our Alchemist. I'll handle Durendal."
"Do you have a death wish?" Tsubasa questioned, "We just saw an unknown ability before us and you wish to face it head on alone?"
"If it's a death wish you want, so be it," Durendal said as he separated his trident once more.
[KAIJI MASSHOU!]
Both Tsubasa and Maria's eyes widened only to suddenly find that they were in different spots than before, with Durendal nowhere to be seen. Well that was until a splash of water occurred behind Tsubasa.
[SAI KAIJI!]
Tsubasa barely heard the announcement and turned, quickly ducking under several swings and dodging a few jabs by Durendal. She raised her katana and blocked against a few of the swings she couldn't feasibly dodge against. She tried to force Durendal's weapon down only for her own weapon to be pushed away, giving a wince as she was struck in the gut by the end of the Seiken's shaft.
"Do not think I'll let either of you go," Durendal added.
{Wonder Ride Sync}
Maria quickly slid to where she was on Durendal's side, having brought out Needle Hedgehog, scanning it against her pendant and loading it into Airgetlam's gauntlet.
{Hissatsu Dokuha: Needle Hedgehog}
Durendal turned and gasped as he was struck by Maria who had sped forward via a burst of electrical energy. He didn't have much a chance to react, Maria using her speed burst to try and blitz him. Well that was until he separated Kaiji once more.
[KAIJI MASSHOU!]
Maria gave a gasp as she was suddenly pressed against the wall of the tunnel, realizing that something was very wrong. While teleportation could be assumed when it came to how Durendal was moving quickly all around, there were things that were off. Mostly in that when it occurred after starting or being in the middle of a reaction, they would end up in the middle and end of a reaction respectively.
[SAIJ KAIJ!]
Maria looked to her side and quickly braced, yelling out as Durendal had appeared mid-swing on her side, energy erupting from Kaiji. Sparks flew as she was sent staggering back from the attack.
Tsubasa's eyes widened, "Maria!"
"I am Master Logos' right hand for a reason," Durendal said as he slammed the end of the shaft onto the ground, "Do not underestimate me."
"I could say the same," Tsubasa said as she brought out Issun Bushi before holding it over her pendant.
{Wonder Ride Sync}
Tsubasa slotted the Ride Book into the buckle that formed at her waist, pressing down on it to unleash the Ride Books power, "Henshin!"
{Ride Change: Habakiri Bushi!}
The Wielder of Ame no Habakiri soon slashed forward, water erupting from her blade and consuming her before it broke apart to reveal her Ride Gear form of Habakiri Bushi.
"Do you truly think changing forms will help you?" Durendal asked.
"Tsubasa he's right," Maria spoke up with a wince as she got onto one knee, "This isn't standard teleportation."
"No matter the ability, it will have a quirk that we can expose and exploit," Tsubasa said as she kept her blade at the ready.
"Do not make such foolish statements," Durendal remarked as he separated Kaiji once more.
[KAIJI MASSHOU!]
"Ah, we're too late dess!" Kirika called out as she and Shirabe ran up to a makeshift wall made out of cars. The two had split off from Kanade to cover more ground, though that didn't seem to help as the Ousama Megid was still quick on its feet.
"All he does is build towers and then runs off," Yuri spoke up as he went to approach the two, having run across the duo first after separating from Touma.
"Ah, Yuri," Kirika called out as she gave a wave.
Shirabe looked back and raised an eyebrow, "Touma isn't with you?"
"He asked me to go ahead," Yuri replied, "Still it appears as though we aren't fast enough."
"You're right," Shirabe admitted as she looked back at the wall, "By the time we manage to catch up to the Megid, he's finished and can just vanish with ease. What is this Megid even trying to do?"
"Building these things, I guess dess," Kirika gestured forward as she went to stare the wall as well.
Yuri meanwhile noticed something off to the side that piqued his interest, quietly going over to procure the item while Kirika and Shirabe were focused on the wall.
"We understand that he's building these things, Kiri," Shirabe said, "But what's the purpose of it all?"
"Beats me," Kirika shrugged before scratching her head, "I'm just as confused as you dess…"
"Well, at the very least if we run into the Megid first, we have Yuri," Shirabe said as she went to go address Yuri only to not see him where he was before, "Huh?"
"Eh?" Kirika began to look around frantically, "Yuri? Yuri where are-"
She was cut off as she immediately spotted Yuri, the ancient man having found a vacant bicycle. He was currently lying on the seat with his stomach, leaning forward as his hands gripped the handle bars tightly. His balance was shaky as he used the tips of his shoes to push forward just barely.
The Wielders of Igalima and Shul Shagana could only wince however when they saw Yuri immediately crash into a set of trashcans.
"You know…" Kirika spoke up in a bored tone, "Here I thought we were the odd ones of the group, dess."
"I don't know why you'd ever think that," Shirabe said in a bored tone as well, "But our new ally will definitely take some getting used to."
"Oh," Storious remarked as he entered into the main room of the Megid base, seeing that both Legeiel and Zooous were staring directly at the door as if waiting for him, "You seem eager."
"We were wondering if you'd come back or not given the story you're trying to spin," Zooous chuckled.
"Think you have some room for some last minute additions?" Legeiel asked.
"By all means, go ahead," Storious smiled as he gave a bow and held out an open arm, "The more we make them assume this is some grand plot, the easier it will be for our client to procure what she needs."
"Perfect," Legeiel said with an eager smile as he went to walk past Storious, "Wherever that Megid goes, Saber is likely to show up, right?"
"Yes, especially if you attack his allies," Storious replied, "Keep pushing and he will show up in due time."
Legeiel could only chuckle at this before heading off.
"That guy's got a real bad obsession brewing," Zooous remarked.
"Indeed, it's a dangerous path he's walking down," Storious said as he straightened up, "And unlike you and the Swordsman of Water… he's less restrained."
"Because I'm a hunter," Zooous replied, "I know exactly how to act when it comes to my prey or rivals. Legeiel's just a prideful beast that'll get in over his head."
"Speaking of acting…" Storious started to speak before seeing Zooous stand up, "Oh?"
"The Swordsman of Water is likely to be searching too, I'll help out," Zooous replied before heading for the exit, "We didn't get to go all out the last time we met."
"By all means enjoy yourself," Storious said as he put his hands behind his back, "We need to make this as believable as possible after all."
[SAI KAIJI!]
Both Maria and Tsubasa were already starting to lose track of how often they had heard that particular ability announcement. The two were completely on defense when it came to Durendal and the Jikokuken Kaiji. Based on the name, announcements, and how everything played out, Maria was starting to pick up on what exactly Durendal was doing.
That didn't make stumbling out of the ability right before Durendal attacked any less disorienting, at least for Maria. While she admittedly wanted to bust out a new trick with Bakusou Usagi to Kame, she wasn't sure if she wanted to waste a potential trump card so early against an opponent it likely wouldn't help much against.
Tsubasa meanwhile was slowly but surely trying to figure out a way to counter the new Rider. It was mostly why she had entered Habakiri Bushi to begin with. She needed a way to last a long enough time without losing her transformation to make a counter. While Ignite had the raw power and defense to help with that, it was on a strict time limit. The Ride Change forms were indefinite and while they didn't offer as heavy a stat boost as Ignite, it was still significant enough.
"Cease these foolish endeavors and allow me to properly purge you," Durendal called out, the annoyance clear in his voice as both Maria and Tsubasa had kept defensive and managed to last too long for his liking.
"Come now," Tsubasa smirked, "Surely you can decide it all with one more decisive attack?"
"What?" Durendal asked.
"Tsubasa…" Maria muttered, questioning what her friend was attempting to do.
"If you truly are the right hand of Logos, then show me your resolve," Tsubasa said as she began to shift her sword to where it was in a sheathed position, using her free hand as a makeshift sheath.
"Very well…" Durendal hissed out as he slowly separated Kaiji once more.
[KAIJI MASSHOU!]
"A Lucid Song…" Tsubasa let out a low breath as she began to crouch while closing her eyes.
Maria could only stare at the scene in front of her as Durendal had vanished once more while Tsubasa was as still as could be.
[SAI KAIJI!]
Tsubasa's eyes snapped open as she spun while unsheathing her sword, scraping it against her gloved hand and causing sparks to form, "Beyond the Blade!"
Durendal was right behind her, swinging downwards to strike at her only for Tsubasa to lash out and strike at Kaiji with her sword, blue flames engulfing it. The two weapons collided as a burst of flames occurred, releasing a wave of heat that forced both opponents away from each other.
{Knight's Ignited Flash}
"What?" Durendal questioned as he held his trident defensively, "You predicted my movements?"
"If only I was at that skill level," Tsubasa chuckled, "I simply realized it was too disorienting to keep moving, so I kept still and prayed my reaction time was fast enough."
"You say that like that isn't also at a higher skill level," Maria muttered in awe and slight annoyance at how modest Tsubasa was trying to be. Admittedly, seeing a more duel based usage of Kaiji allowed her to spot another seeming weakness that Durendal had.
"Very well then…" Durendal called out as he suddenly rushed while stabbing forward, forcing Tsubasa to block by clashing her blade between two of the tips of Kaiji's trident. He pushed before forcing her back, wasting no time in closing in while swinging.
Tsubasa was surprised by the intensity she was feeling, dancing around Durendal and trying to strike at an opponent only for him to block with his trident's pole before striking her with his free arm. She was forced to go for a few one-handed strikes as a result, using her free arm to block any punches or swings that Durendal sent her way.
The two quickly leapt away from each other, Durendal quickly moving to separate his blade only to give a wince as he felt pain. He looked down to see that his hands and Kaiji were suddenly pressed and wrapped together in a chain whip. Looking up he saw the chain whip belonged to none other than Maria who had a confident smirk on her face.
"You…" Durendal hissed out further, "You two just continue to anger me, huh?"
"Sorry to say, but this is where it ends," Maria called out as a white fire engulfed her left hand before she swiped it forward across the hilt of her blade. The white fires spread and traveled throughout the chain whip before finally reaching Durendal and exploding outwards.
{BRILLIANT†ROAD}
Maria retracted her whip, it reverting back to its sword state as she narrowed her eyes to try and see through the smoke, "Did it…?"
[TSURUGI KOKU!]
A flash of cyan began to gather within the smoke as another announcement could be heard.
[HISSATSU JIKOKU! OCEAN IKKOKU GIRI!]
Both Maria and Tsubasa quickly dodged out of the way of two dark blue energy slashes, the attacks striking the tunnel itself as a result and slicing into it.
Durendal walked out of the smoke while dusting off his shoulder, breathing a bit heavily though not because he had gotten hit. It was him trying to rein in his anger as he looked between his two opponents.
"Did that really do barely any damage?" Maria questioned.
"No, there's a decent amount of damage," Tsubasa said, spying the various scuff marks on Durendal's suit, "Though likely attacking him from the front with his weapon in the way reduced the damage."
"I was hoping that wouldn't be the case," Maria admitted, "But…"
"We're at a disadvantage," Tsubasa said, she didn't want to risk the fight going further and both weren't in the best shape despite their attempts working more often as time passed, "We need to fall back for now."
"As much as I hate to admit it, you're right," Maria said, as she knew that she could only keep her sync rate up for so long with LiNKER and she had injected herself a while back when she had first started tailing the alchemist.
"Do not think I'm going to let you escape," Durendal said as he went to separate Kaiji only for the revving of an engine to be heard. He then gave a gasp, quickly raising his sword up and bracing as he was bombarded by a hailstorm of bullets.
"Huh?" Maria turned before giving a gasp.
"I was wondering when you'd show up," Tsubasa smirked.
Riding down the tunnel was Kamen Rider Kenzan on the Ride Gatriker, the Swordsman of Wind soon shifting the bike and turning it as it screeched to a halt.
"Tsubasa, Maria," Kenzan said, "Are you alright?"
"Now that you're here, yes," Tsubasa said as she back up towards the Rider, "We need a quick retreat."
"Yes, unfortunately our opponent is one we shouldn't underestimate," Maria admitted as she backed up towards Kenzan.
"Understood," Kenzan said before moving his arms near his waist before raising them up crossed, revealing small black balls between each of his fingers.
"Huh?" Durendal quickly began to move forward while resting his hand on Kaiji, "I will not-"
"Sorry but you have no choice in the matter," Kenzan quickly threw his hands forward, unleashing the balls. Once they smashed against the floor a smoke screen erupted from each of them, "I could use an attack or two!"
Maria and Tsubasa nodded, the two gathering energy in their blades before unleashing dual slashes towards the epicenter of the smoke.
The result was a thick smoke that completely clouded Durendal's field of view only to get turned around as the two energy slashes impacted near him and kicked up more smoke. He could hear the sound of an engine taking off at full speed as he tried to make his way through the smoke.
"Come on…" Durendal hissed out as he finally broke past the thick cloud of smoke only to find nothing, "So they escaped…" he muttered before looking behind him, "And so did that alchemist…" he soon gripped his fist tightly, not exactly pleased with these results.
Chris was currently on her own, having decided to leave Rintaro with Hibiki to make sure the Gungnir Wielder didn't get lost on her own or distracted.
"You seem to be in a rush."
Chris heard the new voice and sighed, turning towards an alleyway where Desast was currently sitting against the wall.
"Yo," Desast gave a wave.
"Not the Megid I'm looking for," Chris stared in a bored fashion before turning away.
"Ouch, that's mean," Desast remarked as he put a hand to his chest before chuckling, "Oh, did they make a new one of those Megid again?"
"Yeah, some king this time we think," Chris replied, "You wouldn't happen to know where he is would you."
"What am I?" Desast scoffed in an insulted fashion, "Your hunting hound?"
"Sorry, sorry," Chris sighed with slight frustration, "It's just it's annoying to not know where these guys can be, especially since this one keeps moving constantly."
"You raise a good point," Desast replied, "The one you're describing sounds cowardly… or it could be a crafty planner."
"Seems more cowardly to me," Chris admitted before deciding to head off, "Well I can't waste much more time so I'll be seeing you."
"Hmm," Desast watched as Chris walked away before giving a light groan while standing up to stretch, "I suppose if nothing is happening…"
Kanade was currently on her own while searching alongside the others and making her way through the city streets of Tokyo as fast as she could. At least she was, only to slow down when she saw Captain Minoru stumbling into view.
"Hey," Kanade's eyes widened, "You're…!"
"Help me…" Minoru gasped out before crying out in pain as he gripped his shoulder and stomach tightly, "No, stop it!"
[HADASHI NO OUSAMA!]
"No, you stop it!" the Ousama Megid called out as it reformed once more before moving forward towards an open area while thrusting its cane forward, "No one's going to help you!"
It wasn't long before more cars began to appear out of thin air, being stacked on top of each other as the King Megid seemed to ignore Kanade.
"Yeah, stop lying to the poor guy," Kanade narrowed her eyes as she prepared her Bladriver and Ride Book, "Henshin!"
[BATTOU! ETERNAL PHOENIX!]
"Keep it up, keep it up," the Ousama Megid said as it kept thrusting its cane forward.
"Not going to happen!" Falchion shouted as she appeared in a burst of orange fire, grabbing onto the cane, trying to wrestle it away from the Megid, "Just be a good little Megid and wait for the Sword of Light to come so we can separate you!"
"Stop it!" Minoru's voice managed to cut through the Megid, "I'm a captain, not a king! I don't want to be some kind of ruler!"
"Your children say otherwise King of the Seas," the Ousama Megid remarked as it tried to shake Falchion off, "And as for you peasant… what you describe sounds horrible!"
"Yeah, to you," Falchion grunted as she managed to keep hold, "But I'm doing a pretty good job. Just need to wait for-"
"You're in the way!" Legeiel yelled as he soon leapt into the battle while in his monstrous form, swinging his sword and striking Falchion in the back.
Sparks flew as Falchion was sent stumbling away, "What?"
"You're not Saber, but if I mess with you enough he'll show up," Legeiel said as he pointed his sword at the phoenix themed Rider.
"You have my thanks," the Ousama Megid held its hand up as it began to back away to get back to work.
"That's not happening!" Falchion called out as she rushed forward and swung only for Legeiel to get in the way and block her slash, "Oh come on!"
"This isn't my ideal situation either," Legeiel replied with a low hiss, "Just be a good girl and take a beating so Saber will show up."
"Like hell I will," Falchion said before kicking Legeiel in the gut while backing away.
Watching the fight from a building was Reika who was currently observing the situation. Despite her botched capture attempt, she was still planning on continuing her orders to retrieve SONG's Seiken. She gripped her fist tightly as she realized the chaos of the current situation was her perfect chance to retrieve Kanade.
"This time you're coming back," Reika said as she prepared her Ride Book before initiating her transformation, "Henshin."
[NOROSHI KAISEN! KONCHUU DAI~HYAKKA~!]
"Pile them up and watch my castle grow!" the Ousama Megid shouted as the horns from its cane blared further and further while more cars began to pile onto each other to form the wall.
Falchion and Legeiel both gave grunts and low yells as they tried to overtake each other with their swords. That was until grey smoke shot between the two, leaving a trail as it split into multiple trails that pushed the Megid and Rider away from each other.
The trails soon converged and reformed into Sabela who was now standing between the two.
"Another damn Rider…?" Legeiel questioned.
"You just don't know when to quit, huh?" Falchion asked.
"I just want her Seiken," Sabela said as she rushed towards Falchion while stabbing forward, "I don't have any intention of disrupting your current plans."
"Hey now…" Legeiel growled out as he saw Falchion defend against Sabela's attacks, "That isn't something you get to decide…" he muttered as he gripped his sword tightly before raising it up, "I could care less about our plans! I just want Saber!"
Lightning launched out from the tip of Legeiel's sword, arching downwards and striking both Sabela and Falchion several times. The two Riders cried out as sparks flew from their suits, the two staggering back as a result.
"You couldn't make this simple could you?" Sabela questioned.
"It was simple before you decided to show up again!" Falchion called out in frustration.
"Shut up and be crushed by me!" Legeiel shouted as he leapt forward, slashing at Falchion who blocked his attack. He tried to push forward only to be stabbed in the gut by Sabela, sparks flying as he was forced to step back.
Falchion was ready to move forward and attack Legeiel only to quickly turn and block against a slash from Sabela. She tried to push back only to gasp as Legeiel had stepped forward and slashed her from behind, sparks flying before she was shoved away by Sabela.
Sabela was ready to try and go after Falchion only to quickly block a slash from Legeiel who was still going after her. Her head tilted slightly as she quickly stepped away from the clash, erupting into smoke as Falchion rushed through. She reformed behind the Megid Leader, turning while slashing and striking Legeiel as a result.
"Ah, this is bad dess!"
Kirika soon hurried into view while dragging Yuri alongside Shirabe. The two Wielders had heard fighting and immediately rushed over with Yuri, keeping hold of the ancient swordsman to make sure he didn't get distracted.
"We need to hurry up and get in there," Shirabe said.
"There's also the Megid, we can't let it escape," Kirika added, "So Yuri, get in there!"
"Hmm…" Yuri stared at the scene in front of him, noticing that Falchion was currently fighting Sabela and Legeiel. Though he only focused on Falchion after a while, giving another hum as the Mumeiken Kyomu had caused him to reminisce on some old memories of his.
"What are you doing, dess?" Kirika asked.
"This is no time to be spacing out," Shirabe added before realizing Yuri was just staring off, unaware of who he was staring at. She looked over at her friend, "Kiri, we need to get him involved ourselves."
"Right, dess," Kirika nodded as she began to search around, "Where's his belt?"
"I found it," Shirabe said after searching for a bit and bringing out the Seiken Saikou Driver, "We need his book now."
"On it," Kirika said as she began looking for Kin no Buki Gin no Buki.
"And here we go," Shirabe said as she shoved the Seiken Saikou Driver onto Yuri's stomach.
[SEIKEN SAIKOU DRIVER!]
Yuri winced as the Driver hit his gut a bit too hard for his liking, the strap wrapping around and latching it onto him.
"Come on…" Kirika muttered, "Where is it…" she muttered further before finding it, "Ah, found it dess!"
Yuri could only stare as he saw Kirika open and close his personal Ride Book.
[KIN NO BUKI GIN NO BUKI!]
"Open… sesame!" Kirika shouted.
[GOLD OR SILVER?]
"Time for the next step," Shirabe opened up the Saikou Driver by pushing the blade to the outside, "Now Kiri."
"Roger, dess," Kirika nodded as she placed the book in its proper slot before grabbing Yuri's hand and placing it onto the hilt of the Driver.
"Please Henshin," Shirabe said as she backed away.
"Yeah," Kirika pumped her fist up, "Henshin, dess!"
"Henshin…" Yuri held a bored stare as he initiated his transformation.
[SAIKOU HAKKOU! WHO IS THE SHINING SWORD?]
Yuri's body transformed into specks of light, the light converging onto the Kougouken Saikou before it shot forward at high speeds.
Saikou shouted and spun rapidly as he struck an unsuspecting Sabela and Legeiel who were trying to continue their messy free-for-all fight against Falchion.
[SAIKOU!]
"Oh thank goodness," Falchion sighed in relief, "Could you have taken any longer?"
"I am here now, am I not?" Saikou asked, "I can take care of the Megid, however you don't seem to be doing too well against two opponents."
"Kind of hard to when their attention being divided is worse than them working together," Falchion replied.
"Don't worry dess!" Kirika called out as she drew out a LiNKER injector alongside Shirabe, "We'll be joining soon."
"Right," Shirabe said as she went to inject herself, the two wincing slightly before they pocketed the injectors, "Let's get in there Kiri."
"More and more, and more," the Ousama Megid chanted as it began spinning its cane around before turning back and seeing the situation at hand, "No, no! I don't want more peasants interrupting…" it began to spin around frantically as a crown of energy formed around it. It then swung its cane forward, "Ba-boom!"
Kirika and Shirabe were in the middle of singing their holy chants only for their eyes to widen as the energy crown was sent spinning towards them. Shirabe immediately shoved Kirka out of the way while leaping to the side herself, the crown passing past the two of them before exploding after a while.
Kirika groaned as she held her head, "Why do we keep getting interrupted, dess?!"
"It is rather annoying," Shirabe sighed.
"I could care less about anyone else getting in on this!" Legeiel yelled out as he stabbed his sword into the ground, cracks shooting out as pillars of flame began erupting from the ground, "Give me Saber!"
Falchion quickly grasped onto Saikou and began to dodge out of the way, Sabela quickly retreating into her smoke form to dodge the attacks.
"Sorry but we don't always get what we want!"
"Huh?" Legeiel turned as he heard a whistling noise only to get bombarded by missiles, several missiles impacting near the Ousama Megid as well and sending it tumbling backwards.
{MEGA DETH PARTY}
"Jeez this is growing out of hand," Chris clicked her tongue in annoyance as she landed nearby, already in Ichaival, "Whatever, let's get this over with!"
Sabela reformed and looked over at Chris, "Another ally?"
"All these stupid interruptions…" Legeiel hissed out as he began to look around.
"Ah, Senpai's here too now!" Kirika shouted.
"Everyone is getting in on the action except for us," Shirabe sighed.
"Ah… ah…" the Ousama Megid managed to raise its cane up from where it was lying down, having landed on its back. A few more cars began to pile up before the Megid lowered its cane, "Almost done… almost done… my kingdom is almost complete."
"Like hell it'll be!" Chris said as she took aim and launched out multiple homing energy bolts towards the Ousama Megid.
Storious appeared in the way of energy bolts, his eyes flashing as he transformed into his monster form before launching out energy tendrils from his horns. The tendrils lashed out and dispersed the energy bolts before he went over to help the Ousama Megid up.
"Legeiel, it seems like Saber won't show this time," Storious said, "We should leave for now, our plan is almost complete."
"Damn it!" Legeiel shouted before vanishing.
Storious meanwhile chuckled as he held onto the Ousama Megid before vanishing as well.
"Alright Reika," Falchion spoke up as she began to stand up before looking over at Sabela, "You can either stay and fight with us, or leave."
"I won't give up," Sabela muttered as she pressed down on Noroshi's secondary trigger, her form dispersing into smoke that shot into the air before traveling away from the area.
"Please let go of me," Saikou said as he managed to force his way out of Falchion's grasp, "It appears we've lost the Megid again."
"This is getting ridiculous," Chris groaned.
"Is everyone alright?" Shirabe asked as she and Kirika hurried over.
"Yeah, dess," Kirika nodded, "This felt more intense than usual."
"It's crazy how protective they're being of that Megid," Chris agreed as she dismissed her transformation alongside Falchion and Saikou.
"Whatever," Kanade said as she put her hands in her coat pockets, "We just need to keep at it."
"They can't protect the Megid forever," Yuri agreed.
"Right," Shirabe nodded before looking over at Kanade, "But you should really head back to base."
"Huh?" Kanade raised an eyebrow, "What makes you say that?"
"This is the second time Sabela's targeted you," Shirabe reminded.
"I can handle myself," Kanade huffed while turning away.
"But if she shows up to fight us again while we're trying to save the Captain from the Megid he's fused with…" Shirabe trailed off as she tried to get Kanade to understand why she was speaking up about this.
"Her showing up again could complicate things further which is what we don't need right now," Chris immediately picked up on what Shirabe was saying, "That's a good point."
"Of course it is," Kirika said, backing up Shirabe.
"So you want me to just sit back?" Kanade asked.
"Just for now," Chris replied, noticing a tenseness to Kanade's tone.
"Fine then," Kanade said before heading off, clearly not pleased by everyone voting for her to head back to SONG's submersible base, "I'll head back to base if that's what you want."
"I'll keep an eye on the rooster," Chris added to Kirika and Shirabe before pointing at Yuri who was starting to wander off on his own, "Just make sure he gets to where he needs to go, alright?"
"Of course," Shirabe nodded.
"You can count on us, dess," Kirika saluted.
The three Wielders soon split up, Kirika and Shirabe going to wrangle Yuri while Chris went to go accompany Kanade back to base.
Watching all of this was Desast who sniffed the air a few times.
"What a smoky and bloody smell I've stumbled upon…" Desast muttered as he had picked up on Sabela's scent, putting a hand to his chin, "It feels like this scent is familiar though…"
Tsubasa, Maria and Ogawa had all reconvened in Tsubasa's hotel room back in London. They were lucky that Durendal hadn't chosen to give chase after them. This also meant that they were able to make it to the hotel with little issue as well.
"That was a disastrous fight," Tsubasa sighed as she sat on her bed, "While we had the numbers advantage, that Seiken's abilities are no joke."
"Jikokuken Kaiji…" Ogawa repeated, "From what you've both described, it seems as though it warps time."
"Something along those lines," Maria said as she went to lean against the wall, "It's almost as if it's erasing time."
"Erasing time…?" Tsubasa asked, "So my tactic ended up working?"
"Yes, staying still until the last second seemed to counter it somewhat," Maria replied, "I noticed whenever he used his Seiken's abilities that the disorientation would be from being in somewhere I wasn't before."
"We should use caution if we face this Rider again," Ogawa suggested, "We also need to let the others know in case they run into him."
"I can take care of the report," Maria replied, "I've seen his abilities first hand and can explain them in more details."
"Speaking of details…" Tsubasa crossed her arms as she closed her eyes, "How long was I to be kept in the dark about your mission?"
"Only until we got something concrete and would have to report back," Maria replied, "We didn't want to worry you with SONG business when this trip was clearly for your idol career."
"I appreciate the thought…" Tsubasa admitted before glancing at Maria with a stern stare, "That still doesn't absolve you of your recklessness however."
"Wait what?" Maria asked as she shifted back due to the stern look, "What do you mean?"
"While yes you contacted Ogawa and I was able to reach you, you rushed in too blindly," Tsubasa replied, "While Durendal had yet to appear, it was clear you were just barely about to go on the offensive before I arrived."
"I can handle myself," Maria reminded.
"I'm not saying you can't," Tsubasa argued, "I'm just suggesting that you should maybe think a bit before leaping into danger. You couldn't have waited for one of us to close in further?"
"I didn't want to miss our chance to get information from an Illuminati member," Maria replied, "There was no guarantee that if I waited for Ogawa, our alchemist would've still been around."
"So you were able to confirm it was the Bavarian Illuminati?" Ogawa asked.
"Durendal said so himself," Maria replied, "So it seems that given his free speaking nature, Master Logos isn't too worked up about us knowing he's connected to the Bavarian Illuminati. Not to mention the fact that they're operating in London as well."
"This is big news, and worrying as well given how active the Illuminati has been with funding," Ogawa mused, "For now though our trail might've just gone cold given what you mentioned."
"If the alchemist Maria was following truly is being hunted by Durendal, there's a high chance we won't see him again," Tsubasa said.
"I can only hope everyone overseas is handling everything better than we are," Maria sighed.
"Right, there's the Gjallarhorn issue that's popped up," Tsubasa realized, "And any potential Megid plots… but I have faith."
"We have dependable allies," Ogawa agreed, "For now we should take things slow and check in on them with the information we hold."
"Sounds good to me," Maria nodded.
"Jeez, just where could he be?" Hibiki asked.
"I am unsure," Rintaro admitted.
The two were currently wandering around the city streets, trying to find any sign of the missing Captain or potential Megid attacks. Of course, the two stopped when they saw Touma turn the corner in search of something.
"Ah, it's Touma," Hibiki said before waving, "Hey! Over here!"
"Huh?" Touma turned before seeing his friends, quickly hurrying over, "Hibiki, Rintaro, have you found him yet?"
"We have not," Rintaro replied before realizing something, "Where is Yuri?"
"I sent him to search for the Megid," Touma admitted, "I had run into Daishinji and Miku beforehand and Daishinji had wanted to give me some special last minute training."
"Now that's rare," Rintaro replied, "What did he teach you?"
"It's hard to describe," Touma said as he put a hand to his chin, "But if the moment presents itself, then I'll be able to show you all."
"Ooh, I'm really excited now," Hibiki admitted as she pumped her fists before realizing something, "But how are we supposed to find the Megid?"
"It is not as though royalty like that is common," Rintaro replied.
"Hmm…" Touma put a hand to his chin as he tried to think on why a king would build random walls all round. That was until he realized that the walls weren't that thick, and that they were fairly tall even for walls. There was also the fact that it only stole treasure once and was working on walls for the rest of the time it was active, "Wait…"
"Did you figure something out?" Rintaro asked.
"Yeah, give me a second," Touma said as he pulled out his communicator and called headquarters, "Commander, this is Touma. Hibiki and Rintaro are with me."
"What did you need, Saber?" Sophia asked.
"I think I've figured it out," Touma said, "Can you all locate where exactly the walls were being erected?"
"Of course," Sakuya said, "It shouldn't take long at all."
"Keying in the locations on the map…" Aoi trailed before giving a gasp, "If you fill in all the gaps between the walls then he's completely enclosed a section of the city."
"Those aren't walls," Touma added as he realized his guess was right, "They're towers for the walls."
"So he's building a castle?" Sakuya asked.
"He's just built the exterior towers that would protect a castle… which means he's missing the center of it," Aoi realized before audible typing could be heard, "I've got the perfect location… there's a construction yard that has a ton of materials yet to be used. Meaning…"
"Our Megid is going to use those to build the castle that's protected by the towers surrounding it," Touma realized, "Can you give us the location?"
"Of course," Aoi said, "We'll direct you there immediately."
"Let's go you two," Touma looked over at his friends who both nodded.
The Ousama Megid skipped around as it was in the construction yard described by Aoi. All around it were concrete blocks and construction materials as far as the eye could see. Of course, at the very center were all the boxes, either sealed or opened, from the Alexandria.
"Now's finally time to build the castle," the Ousama Megid nearly giggled as it spun around, "A grand gate sounds nice, but so does a flower bed…" it mused as it began waving its cane forward, various blocks levitating from their spots to start constructing a castle around the treasure it had procured, "Something nice and cozy!"
It wasn't long before Touma, Rintaro and Hibiki ran into view, the two Riders having their Swordrivers on their waists while Hibiki had already grabbed her pendant.
"Huh?" The Ousama Megid turned before it growled, "You all again?!"
"We're not letting you finish that castle," Touma said as he prepared Dragonic Knight.
"For the sake of that Captain's safety… we will defeat you," Rintaro added as he prepared King Lion Daisenki.
"Don't worry captain sir!" Hibiki called out, "We'll save you!"
Both Touma and Rintaro drew out their Seiken's before slashing forward as Hibiki began her chant.
"Balwisyall nescell Gungnir tron~"
"Henshin!"
[REKKA BATTOU! DON'T MISS IT! DRAGONIC KNIGHT~!]
[NAGARE BATTOU! KING LION DAISENKI!]
{SG-r03': Gungnir}
The two upgraded Riders stood with Hibiki in the center, the three charging forward as they rushed towards the Ousama Megid. They realized that the Ousama Megid likely wasn't going to run, but knew that they'd have to keep him still till Yuri and the others arrived.
Both Riders swung forward, planning on opening up the Megid for Hibiki, only for their blades to be caught. Storious and Zooous had come in from the sides, clashing blades with Saber and Blades respectively.
Hibiki had managed to run past them before giving a gasp and turning, "Touma! Rintaro!"
"We never got to have fun with this form of yours," Zooous remarked as he managed to drag Blades off to the side, "So let's have some fun!"
"Will you stop treating this like a game?!" Blades called out as he managed to wrestle Zooous' swords, forcing them down enough before blasting Zooous in the chest and face with his shoulder mounted cannons.
"Your meddling is becoming rather tiresome," Storious said as he kept swinging at Saber who went on the defensive.
[SPICY!]
"Pot meet kettle!" Saber lit his Dragonic Booster on fire, batting away one of Storious' swings before stabbing forward with Rekka, striking the Megid leader in the chest.
"Don't dare take your eyes off royalty girl," the Ousama Megid called out.
"Huh?" Hibiki turned before giving a yelp as she began to dodge out of the way of several swings from the Ousama Megid. She eventually blocked the cane before pushing it away, spinning and closing in before slamming her foot against the Megid's chest.
"No!" the Ousama Megid yelled out as it was sent rolling backwards, "Let me build my castle without a hassle!"
"No! Not when it will hurt a precious life!" Hibiki called out.
"Keep at it Hibiki!" Saber shouted as he continued to swing at Storious to keep the leader busy, "Just a little bit more!"
"While I respect you a great deal, you are getting on my nerves," Storious said as he kicked Saber back before holding the flat of his blade forward, dark energy gathering before he unleashed multiple bolts of energy against Saber.
Saber was quick on the draw, quickly drawing out a Ride Book, slotting it into the booster and punching forward.
[ONE! READING! GOKUREN IGALIMA!]
The result was sickle shaped bursts of fire launching outwards and impacting against the dark energy bolts. The result was an explosion that forced both Saber and Storious to stagger backwards.
[FLAME SPICY!]
Storious however wasn't about to let up and quickly rushed towards Saber, forcing the Swordsman of Flame into a clash.
"Ah, Touma," Hibiki called out, realizing that while Dragonic Knight was strong, Storious didn't seem to be playing around much in this fight.
"Good, her attention is elsewhere," the Ousama Megid stroked its beard as it got up and turned, only to pause when it saw Kirika, Shirabe and Yuri standing in its way, "Uh…"
"Huh?" Hibiki turned before her eyes lit up, "Kirika, Shirabe, Yuri!"
"Thank goodness," Blades sighed in relief before quickly raising his blade, blocking Zooous' attempt to strike at him.
"Stop paying attention to them," Zooous growled out, "And focus on fighting me with all you've got."
"Hibiki, leave this to us dess!" Kirika called out as she drew out her Pendant alongside Shirabe.
"We'll handle the Megid with Yuri," Shirabe nodded.
"It shouldn't take long," Yuri agreed as he already worked on preparing his transformation, "Henshin."
"~Zeios Igalima rizen tron~"
"~Various Shul Shagana tron~"
[WHO IS THE SHINING SWORD? SAIKOU!]
{SG-i02: Igalima}
{SG-i01: Shul Shagana}
Saikou launched forward, striking past the Ousama Megid with a stab. Kirika and Shirabe both rushed forward, Kirika splitting her scythe's blade into two and using it to hook the Megid's cane and forced it away.
"He's open dess!" Kirika called out.
"On it," Shirabe said as she sped forward to close the gap between her and the Megid using her wheels before throwing her hands forward.
The Ousama Megid was trying to get its cane out of Kirika's grasp when it heard whizzing. It turned only to gasp as it was struck multiple times by two small circular pink and white saw-like weapons that were connected by pink energy strings. The weapons struck the Ousama Megid across the chest, sparks flying as Kirika let go of its cane, it staggering back as a result.
"Eh?" the Ousama Megid let out a near exasperated gasp, "Yo-yos?"
"You shouldn't underestimate us," Shirabe said as she crossed her arms while gripping her yo-yos tightly.
"Like I said," Kirika looked over at Hibiki and gave a salute, "We can take care of this, dess!"
"I'm counting on you all," Hibiki smiled and nodded before rushing over for Storious, drawing out Daiyokuzuna Kinzaburou. She scanned it on her pendant to form her buckle before slotting it to initiate her transformation, "Henshin!"
{Ride Change! Kin-no-Gungnir!}
A bright gold fist erupted from the ground behind her, opening up and grasping her within it before it shattered to reveal her form of Kin-no-Gungnir.
Storious yelled out as he managed to force Saber back, energy gathering in his antlers as he went to unleash his tendrils. At least until he heard a yell, he turned only to see a gold fist meters from his face.
Hibiki slammed her fist directly into Storious' face, sparks flying as the Megid leader was sent tumbling away and crashing into a stack of concrete blocks.
"Whoa," Saber whistled as he saw Hibiki's new form, "This is my first time seeing it."
"Oh," Hibiki said in realization before she held up her armored fists, "Pretty cool, right?"
"Very," Saber chuckled.
Storious growled out as he staggered to his feet, gathering green energy into his blade before swinging forward and unleashing it towards the two.
"I've got this," Saber called out as he quickly ran forward while coating Rekka in flames. He slashed and clashed against the energy, quickly spinning around as he coated the energy attack in Rekka's flames to wrest control of it over to him. With one flip and a spin he let out a yell as he slashed forward, sending the projectile back towards Storious.
Storious gave a light gasp as he quickly braced, his own attack slamming into him and sending him backwards as he smashed into the same stack of concrete blocks as before.
"Whoa," Hibiki's eyes lit up at this, "Touma, was that?"
"What Daishinji taught me," Saber nodded.
"Oh… certainly an impressive technique," Saikou remarked before giving a yell and closing in to strike at the Ousama Megid several times.
"Well we can't let him show us up dess," Kirika said as she brought out Sarukani Wars.
"Right, we'll do it together Kiri," Shirabe agreed as she brought out Tsuki no Hime Kaguyan.
[SARUKANI WARS!]
[Friends gather under the zoea to challenge a certain devil's hand…]
[TSUKI NO HIME KAGUYAN!]
[A beautiful princess shining on a moonlit night that emerged from a certain bamboo…]
The two then held the Ride Books up to their pendants, a chime ringing out.
{Wonder Ride Sync}
In a flash, the two gained their white colored buckles to set their Ride Books into. They slotted their Ride Books in place before pressing their fingers down against the buckles to open up their books simultaneously.
"Henshin!"
{Ride Change}
Igalima soon shifted back to two blades except the second one was inversed, the scythe now mimicking a crab's claw.
Shirabe threw out her yo-yo's, forming a circle of energy below her, the center shining a yellowish white that bathed her in light reminiscent to the moon's.
Kirika threw her crab-claw scythe up into the air, the pole shrinking into the blades as the crab claw grew in size and shined with a bright energy. The claw then slammed and shut on Kirika while the soft light that was bathing Shirabe turned a bright white and engulfed her completely.
The crab claw and pillar of light soon broke apart to showcase their new forms.
Kirika now had a soft green open long sleeveless coat over her Symphogear Armor, the coat had a popped collar and tucked beneath the buckle. There was standard armoring on the chest with black lines decorating it. The shoulders were gold furred white faced monkey heads while the shoes resembled monkey paws. Her left forearm had the upper half of a soft green crab claw for armoring, her right forearm having the same soft green armor but led into a giant gold crab claw gauntlet. A mechanical white face mask covered her mouth, glowing green lines running through it.
{Igalima Kani Wa!}
Shirabe had a dull yellow open short coat over her Symphogear Armor, it having a popped collar but also being short enough to where it wasn't tucked into the buckle. Unlike the other sleeveless coats, hers had long sleeves that grew wider and hung at the ends, pink lines running through it. Her armored legs were adorned with pink bamboo shoots, her yo-yos receiving an outer shell based on the moon. Pink ribbons adorned her upper body, acting as 'shoulder armor' with a pink ribbon running across her forehead and having a full moon that acted as a head crest. Lastly like the others was a mechanical white face mask covering her mouth, pink glowing lines running through it.
{Shul Shagana Kaguyan!}
"Not bad, dess," Kirika said as she looked herself over.
"Very interesting," Shirabe noted.
"You think you can beat me with those new toys?" the Ousama Megid questioned.
"Of course," Kirika held her claw forward, "We can take you easy, dess!"
"Especially when you've forgotten about your other opponent," Shirabe said.
[SAIKOU HAKOU!]
"Huh?" the Ousama Megid turned at the announcement.
"Let there be light!" Saikou shouted as he launched into the air, his blade shining brightly before he spun downwards. He sliced through the Ousama Megid once before spinning and slicing through it again.
The Ousama Megid yelled out as it staggered back, a purple pulse occurring as Captain Minoru was launched out of the Megid.
"No!" the Ousama Megid whined as it tried to move towards Minoru, "I must be complete!"
Kirika quickly launched forward, using her form's great agility to land between the Ousama Megid and Minoru.
"Uh…" the Ousama Megid stepped back.
"Sorry dess," Kirika smiled before soon giving a glare, "But also not-sorry!"
The Ousama Megid gasped out as Kirika struck it several times with her gigantic claw. It attempted to strike at the claw with its cane only for that to get smacked out of its hands.
Kirika shouted as she opened her claw and closed it, catching the Ousama Megid within it. She then yelled out and spun before opening her claw, swinging and launching the Ousama Megid away, "Shirabe!"
"On it," Shirabe nodded as she sped forward with her wheeled boots, she held her hands close and spun her yo-yo's together, sparks forming from the two colliding before the sparks formed into energy. She soon began spinning around where the Ousama Megid would land, releasing bolts of energy that stayed where they were.
The Ousama Megid shouted as it finally hit the ground, groaning as it started to slowly get up. It was ready to make a remark when it suddenly saw how bright everything was around it. Though it didn't take long for it to realize it was in the center of all the released energy that Shirabe had put out.
"W-What is this?!" the Ousama Megid questioned.
"Allow me to show you," Shirabe snapped her fingers as the energy suddenly morphed into crescent moons, the moons spinning forward and launching at near the same time.
"Ow! Ow! No! Ouch! Not there!" the Ousama Megid shouted as the energy moons struck against him, sparks flying as a result.
"We're not done yet," Shirabe said as she raced around the Megid in a circle again, a glowing ring forming before a projection of a moon appeared within the ring.
The Ousama Megid let out a yelp as it began to float upwards, gravity within the ring being turned off and causing it to float. It tried to position itself around to where it would attempt to get out by mimicking swimming motions only to yelp as it saw Kirika leap into the zero-gravity zone.
"DESS!"
She slammed her crab claw downwards just as the projection faded, shouting as she slammed the Megid into the hard ground before leaping away and landing near Shirabe.
"Let's finish this, Kiri," Shirabe said.
"Took the words right out of my mouth, dess," Kirika said as she went to prepare her finisher with Shirabe.
{Hissatsu Dokuha: Igalima Kani Wa!/Shul Shagana Kaguyan!}
Shirabe quickly formed a projection of a full moon behind her, it soon splitting into multiple moon projections. The projections launched out and began to spiral around the Ousama Megid as Kirika leapt high up into the air before landing on one of the higher up moon projections.
Her crab claw gauntlet shined with bright green energy as she launched forward like a blur, striking past the Ousama Megid before landing on another moon. She wasted no time in launching off of the projection again and striking past again, becoming a near human pinball as she continued to strike at the Ousama Megid before landing behind it.
The Ousama Megid gave a groan before gasping out as its stomach was suddenly being crushed, Kirika having caught it within her pincers. It then yelped as it was raised high into the air.
"Moonlight…" Shirabe started as the moon's surrounding her friend and the Ousama Megid began to rise higher before shining brightly. The moons then released beams of light that struck the Ousma Megid's body.
Kirika yelled out as her crab claw began shining brightly before she closed the claw even tighter right as the beams hit. The result was completely snapping the Ousma Megid in half, "…Danger, dess!"
"F-Farewell my subjects…!" the Ousama Megid gasped out as it exploded within Kirika's grip.
{Issatsu Geki!}
"Give it a rest already," Kirika groaned out as Shirabe skated over to her.
Saber and Hibiki yelled out, reeling back their left and right fists respectively before punching at Storious who blocked with his sword only to stagger back from the force.
Blades meanwhile gathered water within his blade, slashing several times with his elementally enhanced sword, managing to bat away Zooous' attempts to close in before forcing the Megid back further with his cannons.
Storious and Zooous both ran into each other, their backs hitting each other as they both looked back at each other.
"I suppose this one was a failure," Storious remarked.
"Looks like it," Zooous shrugged.
"There's no point in continuing any further for the moment," Storious said as he vanished alongside Zooous.
Saber, Hibiki and Blades began to relax with slight surprise at the sudden retreat. At least until they saw that the Ousama Megid was taken care and they realized the fight was over. After that, it didn't take long for everyone to dismiss their transformations.
"Well, mission accomplished," Touma said as he put his hands in his pockets.
"Yeah," Hibiki nodded before she looked over towards Shirabe and Kirika were celebrating that they were able to take care of the Ousama Megid.
"Incredible work everyone," Rintaro said as he hurried over, "Touma, that technique of yours was incredible, was that…?"
"Yeah, Daishinji taught it to me," Touma smiled.
"Truly you continue to inspire," Rintaro admitted with a smile before looking over at Kirika and Shirabe who began to approach with Yuri, "And you two handled that Megid excellently."
"Those new Ride Book forms are pretty cool, dess," Kirika admitted.
"Despite never using them before we were able to handle them fairly well," Shirabe added.
"Yeah, they're just as easy to use as the normal Symphogear," Hibiki nodded in agreement.
"I think I recall Daishinji mentioning that only certain books sync," Rintaro spoke up, "So you all being able to handle them with ease only makes sense."
"So what comes next?" Yuri asked.
"Well first we should call SONG up and get some cleanup going," Touma said as Rintaro pulled out the Gattrike Phone.
"I'll go check on the Captain," Hibiki said as she decided to hurry over to where Minoru was.
The group was unaware that they were being watched however. Behind one of the large piles of concrete was Saint-Germain who now held a silver briefcase in her hand, it was open and held a strange rock that had the shape of a gear embedded within it. She simply closed her eyes and gave a soft chuckle as she closed the briefcase before walking off.
"The Antikythera Gear," she said as she glanced at the briefcase while she walked away from the construction yard, "You did wonderfully Storious. As usual, a fairly flashy showcase that puts all the attention on you. This chaotic situation should be enough for everyone to assume the piece I now hold was damaged or lost in the initial attack."
Watching the entire event unfold from afar however was Gaze, undetected by anyone. The mysterious entity simply gave a nod before taking off and drawing out his recording device.
"Gaze's Log," he said as he paused before speaking up, "Despite everything, the world still turns, those who have plans will still carry them out. This is good for me as that means it should hopefully distract and potentially split up SONG so that I can search unimpeded in this world for what I'm looking for. This will also do me good in checking up on my other experiments away from this world as well."
A Few Days Later...
It had been a few days since the attacks by the Ousama Megid. SONG had been informed about the current situation from London while strenuous work had been done to undo the trouble caused by the Megid. It was a busy few days for SONG as they worked with the government to locate and give the stolen cars back to everyone. And there was also the issue of it being stemmed from an attack on the Alexandria, meaning that inventory needed to be taken to see if anything was lost or damaged.
Though thankfully, when it came to those kinds of troubles, the Riders and Wielders of SONG didn't have to worry about that. Mostly everyone was going about their own business, whether it was studying, general enjoyment, etc.
One group out and about at the moment was Hibiki, Miku, Touma and Yuri. The trio of friends had finally cleared up some free time to hang out together. They had also decided that they'd keep showing Yuri around to get him acclimated to the current era.
"Sounds like you all went through quite the chase," Miku mentioned.
"Yeah, it was very hectic," Hibiki groaned as she leaned back slightly, "I really wish we had an easy way of tracking the Megid."
"I feel like if it was any other Megid we'd be fine," Touma said as he put a hand to his chin in thought, "The way the Megid acted made him only need to stay in spots for a short while. Plus Storious and the others were very intent on keeping us from separating the Megid as much as possible."
"I wonder if that Megid was supposed to do something special then," Hibiki pondered as she put her hands behind her head.
"I'm not sure if making a castle and creating a King is special though," Miku replied, "At least in terms of Megid stuff. Sure Kings are powerful… but it still seems weird that they decided to put all their time into that one."
"Yeah…" Touma muttered, wondering if there was something they were missing, "Still, at the very least most of the exhibit that was on the Alexandria managed to make it out okay."
"Yep, and most importantly the Captain is safe and sound," Hibiki added.
"Can't forget that," Touma agreed.
"I wonder if they're going to push the exhibit back given what happened," Miku replied, "I can only imagine a few damaged and lost items would cause some delays."
"Yep," Touma replied before snapping his fingers, "Hey we should take Yuri to that exhibit whenever it opens since he's fairly old and likely only versed in whatever culture he was in."
"That sounds like a good idea," Miku nodded.
"For sure," Hibiki replied before looking back, "Yuri what do you-Yuri?!"
"Eh?" Touma turned alongside Miku only to give a groan, "Again?!"
Yuri had managed to escape from their sight once more, though Miku was quick to try and look out for the ancient swordsman.
"Ah," Miku gave a gasp before pointing, "There he is!"
Hibiki and Touma looked over at where their friend pointed, seeing a window that showed an escalator that Yuri was currently riding up in a curious fashion.
Yuri could only stare at the escalator as he rid up, looking all around as this was something entirely new to him. He was aware of elevators to a certain extent, but escalators were uncharted territory. He never had imagined that there would be steps that would move upwards.
"H-Hey," Touma called out as he and his friends had managed to hurry over into the building and to the base of the escalator, "What are you doing?"
"Look," Yuri called in near awe, "These stairs are moving on their own… how convenient!"
"He's acting like a child," Miku sighed as she hung her head.
"Given he's not used to modern architecture I think we can kind of excuse that…." Hibiki chuckled sheepishly as she rubbed the back of her neck.
"Yuri, you know we had plans to show you around right?" Touma sighed, "Just get back down, alright?"
"Very well," Yuri said as he began to walk down the escalator that was going up in a slow fashion, thus keeping him at the same spot.
"No wait, not like that," Hibiki spoke up as she waved her hands forward, "The one you're on takes you up, the one next to you is how you get back down."
"You were almost at the top too," Touma pointed out.
Yuri had sped up and managed to walk and get down the upwards moving escalator quite a bit before stopping, soon being carried upwards again, "Really? I take back what I said then."
"This is going to be a long summer," Miku sighed further as she pinched the bridge of her nose.
To Be Continued…
Author's Note: And thus we finish up my variant on Symphogear 3.5, which is mostly to explain where and how the Bavarian Illuminati obtain the Antikythera Gear. Well that and the bits of Maria and Tsubasa in London though I purposely left that adaptation a bit open compared to finishing it up now. Figured I could at least do something like that with a bit of a fun non-consequential Megid like the Ousama Megid before we get deeper into the season. It was also nice to finally introduce more Ride Gear forms. Now the only one left to debut a form is Maria. Speaking of Maria though, it was fun writing Durendal's introductory fight against her and Tsubasa. Not much else to say but thanks for reading and I'll see you all next time.