Flames seared the battlefield as the two airborne combatants resumed their assault. Even if everyone knew the fight was reaching its climax, the tension that rested in the air was suffocating, just like the air itself as the two zipped around with God-like speed. Neither side was willing to give up an edge, no matter how many battle scars they or the battlefield collected with each strike. The energy collected within the fractured gauntlet of Gungnir strung the Armed Gear together, but it wasn't like it could keep it together for long. One wrong move and the gauntlet would be shattered without any hope of being reconnected...
And Leia knew this.
The Armed Gear of Gungnir glowed a bright gold, Hibiki bounding forward with her right arm holding the splintered weapon. Leia brought her sword up, creating four barriers of different colors that would have stopped any normal attack right in its tracks. However, Hibiki's attacks, while simple, were anything but normal. Spinning around, the purple scarf around her neck began to flare up, whipping around and striking one of the barriers. With one slash down, the second spin brought the scarf back around, cutting straight through the barrier as if it were a sheet of paper.
After her spin, she used the other fist she had to strike and fracture the second barrier, allowing a swift kick to break it completely. With the final two, the boots on her feet sparked in spirals of flames, lacerating the following two shields with ease, all while keeping the energy held in her other fist unchanged. "Ora!"
(Hibiki Style: Sky Rending Flame Break)
The energy that composed the shields fell apart, allowing Hibiki to weave under Leia's sword and punch her straight in her abdomen. The charged energy released, a wave of fire tearing through the air as Leia got the wind knocked out of her. Despite this hit sending her back a few meters, she wouldn't have a problem counterattacking, the alchemic circles on her sword now flashing blue and green. Within an instant, a slash was launched of two elements that would counteract Hibiki's flames in different ways.
However, Hibiki's resolve wouldn't allow herself to lose to a simple elemental advantage. She brought the broken Gungnir gauntlet up, slamming it straight into the attack and dispersing it. While the attack would be stopped for the most part, the wind itself was its own problem, the residue of the strike now slashing several parts of Hibiki's body. While Leia did think about having something to counter Hibiki and her types of attacks, part of the reason for the wind was that it wouldn't be stopped as easily as the water, allowing for even a blocked attack to land without issue.
Despite this, Hibiki roared, blood seeping from her wounds as she closed the distance with Leia and hitting her with another charged punch. Blood dripped from Leia's mouth, her blade slashing downward to split them apart. There were only so many of those attacks she could take, no matter how much she could recover with the power drawn in by Nidhogg. "How can she still be this annoying to deal with," Leia questioned, an annoyed tone in her voice as she started to shift some of the energy from her wings to the section that Hibiki hit.
"Gungnir is quite a challenge, isn't it? God-slaying properties, collection of energy..."
Nidhogg's explanation wasn't necessarily for Leia, the question being rhetorical in nature. She knew everything about Gungnir, the ferocious spear, from its power of deicide to the way the Armed Gear manifested. The collection of energy was no different. It was a point that she kept an extensive eye on, seeing as how that ability was quite similar to Nidhogg's. There were very minute differences, but aside from the way the stored power could be used and the dragon manifestation, they might as well as have been the same Relic.
Leia muttered to herself, parrying yet another attack from Hibiki. She was put on the defensive now, her alchemy now being strictly used to provide cover and to hit blind spots in Hibiki's defense. "I assumed it was only phonic gain, but I guess it makes sense." Her words went over Hibiki's head, though it wasn't like she was speaking to her in the first place. Hibiki reared back another fist to punch, seeing a chance to land a hit now that Leia's shields had a gap in them.
However, when she squeezed through, Leia's sword swiveled its trajectory, slashing upwards and making another gash on Hibiki's arm. It wasn't close enough to hit a detrimental spot, but it was better to chip in damage while she could, especially with the amount of wounds her opponent already had from her last trick.
As the fight unfolded, Miku, Elfnein and Chris were on the ground, observing when the next time they could make a move was. "Is there really nothing we can do here," Miku asked, wincing every time Hibiki had an attack landed on her. She donned the Shénshòujìng Faust Robe so she could help Hibiki and stop her from getting hurt. She had the power to do what she wanted, yet with the way the fight was, it didn't look like it did much more than if she hadn't worn it in the first place.
Elfnein mused over their current situation, her hand covering her mouth as she tried to come up with a solution, though it was to very little avail.
"We keep getting checked at every turn..."
They thought the solutions they had were foolproof, and rightfully so. However, those plans showed that compared to Leia, their preplanning was laughable. The Shénshòujìng's Relic-erasing properties wouldn't do much against mere charges of alchemy. However, while they thought they had a counter to that alchemy, Daur da Bláo couldn't do anything with the transmutation, seeing how Leia could just do the same thing. Even Chris, who had a massive amount of firepower with Ichaival, couldn't blindly fire away at the risk of giving Leia more energy to work with.
She had all bases covered, even if they did attack all at once.
Regardless, it wouldn't stop them from trying. Chris, quiet this entire time trying to find a weak point, finally decided to speak up, her words directed towards Miku as she turned to face her.
"Hey, go help the idiot."
Miku raised her eyebrows in confusion, the thoughts in her mind the same as everyone else's as they observed from afar. Even if they knew how the powers worked against them individually, it was still better to work together, but Chris had a different idea. As she noted Miku's surprised expression, she explained her reasoning.
"If anyone works best with her, it's you."
No matter how obvious it was, Miku's heart continued to race after realizing what Chris meant. Anyone else could see it, but it was still embarrassing to hear it out loud. Miku nodded with a determined look in her eye, ready to enact their plan.
Leia's following wave of attacks landed gracefully, completely ignoring the energy being drained by the Godslayer. Even if she was being put at a disadvantage by the passive collection of energy, something that she recognized was that unlike Nidhogg, Hibiki could only let out that energy in one large burst. As opposed to Leia, whose power could be released in any amount she wanted, indicated by the bars on her left arm, Hibiki's release was much more abrupt and left her with nothing. This led to her needing to not only be on the offensive to keep Leia from gaining control of the fight, but also needing her to stay on the defensive to keep energy off of the Faust Robe.
However, it was much easier said than done.
Just as another flurry of blade slashes were blocked by Hibiki, the bars on Leia's arm lit up a bright white. The light was blinding, forcing Hibiki to squint as Leia called out, "Nidhogg."
Just like the times before, out of the diamond on her sleeve, a black haze emerged, a dragon manifesting before charging at Hibiki. Left with no other choice, Hibiki swung her right arm to repel the dragon, the energy releasing in another massive burst that dispersed the dragon's head. She didn't want to use her energy reserves there, but she knew that if the dragon had hit her there, the energy would have been lost anyways.
Before the cloud of black dispersed, Leia appeared from within the middle of it, the four colors of red, blue, green and brown flashing before the sword was engulfed in a silver current of energy. She swung the sword horizontally, though her target wasn't a vital spot, a surprise to the Godslayer. Instead, the sword came across the already cracked gauntlet on her right arm as Hibiki went to defend, cutting it in half and drawing a line that erupted in blood.
(SEGMENTAL SURGE)
As strong as Hibiki was, Leia knew that the strength of one that could take down God could only be matched by an intellect that would also be considered as such. Even if she wasn't the most intelligent alchemist, there was a reason why she kept thousands of contingency plans in the back of her mind, and this was one of them.
Hibiki was left in shock, now being put in a very disadvantageous position as Leia finally brought her sword up. She had lost one of her gauntlets, now she was on the back foot.
"It's over, Godslayer."
Leia talked as if she had won, quite confident after seeing the results. However, before the sword could come down for another attack, a flash of light intercepted the strike, causing Leia to deflect it. "Tch..."
When both combatants turned to the culprit of the attack, Hibiki called out, a smile beaming on her face as she met eyes with her savior. "Miku!"
Miku raised herself up in the air, the mirrors behind her cycling as one of them gave off a cloud of steam from that last attack. Her attack didn't break the sword or even leave a crack on it, the silver current of energy blocking the light from scratching the blade. Even a small attack like that had a plan for it, but what Leia didn't have a plan for was Miku's attempt at conversation with her.
"Leia... do you really want to make your sister upset?"
Laya's face shifted from confidence to irritation, the feeling of anger rising as she tried to figure out what mind games Miku was trying to play. She was in a winning position that could be turned over at a moment's notice, so she was going through all the possibilities of questions and responses while the fight was still in her favor.
But still, something about this felt off...
"What are you..."
Hibiki also couldn't help but mutter, though she wasn't overanalyzing everything like Leia. She knew the reason Miku asked this, so she didn't stop her from speaking. "Miku..."
Miku took a deep breath, now floating right beside Hibiki. The girl she stood before was battle-worn, blood smearing from her lips as she wiped it away and scuffs all over herself. The Faust Robe had its own fair share of rips and tears, though the wounds that were open in those spots had already been healed through Leia's transmutation. Even if it looked like they were keeping their promise, the stress Leia was going through was going against everything they were trying to accomplish.
"Just before everything... she asked us to do something."
The Adapter put her hand out to the alchemist, her eyes displaying a forgiving look. Leia had been antagonistic this entire time, giving off an air that she looked down on everyone she saw. It made her very difficult to approach, but with two different people trying to reach out to her, a third person wouldn't have hurt either.
"She wanted us to make sure you were okay."
Leia was silent for a moment, processing what Miku had just said. Her sister... wanted her to be safe? Of course she was going to be safe, she should have been saying the same thing to her, shouldn't she? The girl was reckless to the very last atom of her body, not knowing where to pick a fight and where to lay down her arms. Instead, she thought that the calculated strategist would need to be safe? And by the enemies, no less? That immediately put Laya in the forefront of her sister's mind, but she...
Leia scoffed at this declaration, rolling her eyes as this claim she found absurd.
"And why should I believe that?"
Even though Hibiki immediately got defensive, there was reason for her to be skeptical of their words. There was always the chance that anything could be used as a manipulation tactic, including using the "word" of her sister. She wasn't risking losing an edge in battle due to her emotions.
"We don't know her, but you do! Do you really expect us to lie about that!?"
Hibiki replied to her, giving her an obvious fact. Sure, it sounded suspicious coming from them, but there wasn't any reason for them to lie about this. It got Hibiki more riled up than anyone. Having family to support her in her darkest times, alongside a great friend and partner, not having any of that would have driven her insane while she went through her situation. If she had a sister, she would have listened to everything she said, without question. That's just what those bonds meant to her, so seeing Leia completely disregard the concept of her sister being worried, it lit a fuse in her.
Even with a small outburst by Hibiki, Leia's response was curt and to the point.
"She knows what our mission is. She knows exactly what happens when discussing things with an enemy, so it wouldn't make sense, even if she is stupid enough to do that."
Hearing Leia speak of her sister like that flooded the two S.O.N.G. Adapters with emotion, though the primary one was anger. The face of Laya flying past them flashed back in their minds, seeing a tear roll down her cheek as she weaved between them to pick off half of the combatants. That request that she spoke echoed in their minds, sorrowful and pleading in that single moment that they stood together.
"Are you seriously that cold-hearted? She's your own sister," Hibiki growled. The anger Hibiki displayed was a first for Leia, only seeing an expression like this in research under what was labeled as a Berserk state in the Symphogear system. She must have felt passionate about this, but with the task at hand being her only objective, Leia could only respond coldly.
"So?"
Miku balled up her fist, using her other hand to hold Hibiki back from wailing on her with a punch or two. Even though she never fought out of anger, there were times where connecting with fists was better than just speaking. Miku remained as a mediator before things got out of hand, even if she was just as upset as Hibiki. "Think about the times you've spent together! Doesn't that matter to you in the slightest!?"
Leia was growing tired of this, the constant berating bringing her to a height of annoyance she hadn't felt in a while. For some reason, their insistence on the topic brought a part out of her that wanted to prove them wrong, even though she knew that it wouldn't stop them. "There has not been a single time when..."
She started to go back in her mind for all the times that Laya had been obedient in her orders for a mission. She knew that this had been a consistent pattern since they were kids, but outside of going through the Yggdrasil System incidents, she knew there had to be more.
However, the more she started to look back, the foggier it became. Some just had a few details missing, but with other memories, they were completely cut out, not even being able to recall the basics of if she was even there or not. The farther back she went, the more memories disappeared, each question she asked herself about internally not having an answer to itself now. At this point, she wasn't worried about finding situations that benefited her situation to prove a point. Now, she was even struggling to recall her double's favorite color.
"Wait, what...? Why can't I...?"
She put her hand to her head, that irritation of not being able to remember starting to take hold. Chris noticed Leia's mood and frustrated look and while Miku and Hibiki's anger faded away in favor of checking on Leia's wellbeing, Chris' thoughts were different.
"She's..."
She was trying to think of how to put what she was witnessing. Leia didn't look like she was in physical pain, but with the way she bit her lip, it seemed like turmoil over anything. While Chris tried to find a way of explaining this, Elfnein already knew the reason, even if it was a bit sad. "She burned them away..."
There was a fog in Leia's head, trying to remember something she couldn't. No fond memories from when they were kids. No memories of discontent providing a reason why Leia should have looked down on her. The only ones she could find that she was searching for included Laya's loyalty, but even then, it was all preceded by a phrase a blonde spoke to them long ago.
It was only after finding that phrase that Leia realized why she had lost everything.
"Was it because of that...?"
While the question was out in the open for anyone to answer, it was more directed at Nidhogg, which had been watching her the whole time. It read her thoughts inquiring about the burning of memories, something that she didn't think of the real repercussions for until now. Before, she just lost all of her energy, seeing as how she was supplementing it with life energy, but the fact that she lost anything at all was only able to be correlated to that. With a soft huff, Nidhogg responded, "Yes, it was."
Hearing this, Leia's face finally revealed an expression of shock, one that was completely unfamiliar to the face of the one that had layers upon layers of plans. She didn't believe them the first time, but didn't rule out the possibility, but her mind was now focused on one thing. Thankfully, it was still there, the reason for her fight in the first place. She was there so she could find something to activate Galatine. That way, she could bring back the late Stella Noire. That part was ingrained into her soul, so there wasn't a way she could forget it, but even so...
Why did she feel so empty at that?
Seeing the consequences of her actions, she affirmed her resolve. However, this wouldn't be without asking Nidhogg a question, but this time, it was one from within her thoughts that wouldn't be declared out loud. There was a moment of silence before the dragon responded, lifting at least some of the weight off her shoulders. "You're lucky the answer is yes."
The answer was all she needed, putting her sword up and taking back up an offensive stance. "I... I've come too far to turn back now." Her words echoed throughout the battlefield, her vicious expression returning as Hibiki and Miku both attempted to reach out again. They could see her pain, but they could also see how stubborn she was being about this, even after losing her memories. Hibiki was the one to call out her name, wanting her to see the light.
"Leia!"
The girl did nothing but ignore Hibiki's extended hand, the sword in her hand glowing a bright silver as the elements compounded again. "The reason I'm fighting hasn't changed. It will never change, no matter how many memories get burned away." The wings on her back began to erupt with even more black energy, two circles of fire and earth alchemy appearing and firing at the duo. Seeing this, Miku turned to Hibiki, holding her hand out to her as the projectiles drew close.
"Hibiki!"
Now that the hand of her partner was out for her to grab, that doubt and worry in her heart now ceased to be. That determination of hers to help others rose as she remembered Laya's plea for help. Even if she didn't know her, even if the one to help was the enemy, even if Gungnir was shattered to a single shard...
She'd be sure to help them, however she could.
Taking Miku's hand, Hibiki wore a smile on her face, invigorated with the power of the love and the song dwelling within her heart. "Right! Let's go, Miku!"
[Insert: Believe is All – Aoi Yūki & Yuka Iguchi]
"Don't give up, don't give in, as long as the timbres that project from our voices to our heart's content..."
The phonic gain between the two rose sharply, bouncing off each other as the arm with the remaining gauntlet punched outward, putting the flames out instantaneously. Meanwhile, Miku's mirrors fired multiple beams of light that vaporized the crystals. Before, it was a hard task for the two of them, but together, they felt unstoppable. Leia realized this increase in strength, a power that was only possible with two people as close as them.
"Unison now...?"
Not missing a beat, the wings of her Fixation rose, absorbing as much energy as possible and increasing her own power. If she had a chance, it would have to be with that, even while Hibiki and Miku continued to sing.
"...can connect to other people, then we believe they'll become overtones and shine brilliantly!"
The fight ensued, though unlike Miku, Chris and Elfnein remained on the ground, making sure they were out of the way. If they intervened, there was a chance they could mess with their flow, even if there was more strength in numbers. However, the more it went on, the more even it felt thanks to Unison. The Blades of Zababa were thought to be the strongest Unison pair due to their weapons working together, and while that did remain true for the most part, the feelings of Hibiki and Miku ended up making their mock Unison a whole lot stronger than usual.
Leia fired a silver slash of coalesced elements, but with four mirrors, Miku erected a barrier that fended off the attack. Weaving around it, Hibiki spun the two of them around, her scarf once again attacking Leia. She came up to parry it, though another wave of light was fired at her again. Bringing up an alchemy shield, she deflected some of the light, but there were stray beams that were able to graze her, unlike before. Amidst this combat, the dragon grumbled to itself, watching Leia's movements becoming much quicker and aiming to be more lethal, "Do you want to win that badly?"
With another flash of light, Leia's sword blocked another attack, but Hibiki's fist collided with her jaw. The attack led her into a spin, but she wouldn't allow them to win.
"I won't lose here. Otherwise, there would have been no point in fighting in the first place."
Extending her wings to regain her balance, she summoned all four elements again, attacking with them all at once. Despite this barrage of attacks, Hibiki and Miku wouldn't let up.
"Even if it's between contradictions and ideals, we'll accept it!"
The phonic gain bounced off each other, charging up and causing Leia to block several consecutive attacks, each one was stronger than the last. "And keep nestling even closer, no matter what the reason may be!" The duo swerved through each alchemic circle, hand-in-hand while Hibiki's gauntlet charged up power and Miku's light blasted away all stray attacks coming their way. They pushed through, breaking all the alchemic circles that Leia had brought up, their power now giving them a bright aura of gold and purple.
Seeing this, Leia decided that it was time to finally go all-out. She hated that option, since it was an absolute last resort, but seeing how her opponents were the Relic-destroying Shénshòujìng and the God-slaying Gungnir, it was all but assured she'd need to resort to this eventually.
With the four lights of corresponding colors flashing onto her sword, the silver energy erupted from the hilt, though this time, it was different. This time, a fifth symbol flashed, the blade in her hand now resembling the void on her back, though it was accompanied by a white aura. Her wings also began to glimmer with a similar white aura, making the dark void on her back a lot more imposing as she drew her sword back.
"We've devoted all of our souls, at this very moment right now!"
The wielders of the Shénshòujìng and Gungnir both held their free hands out, the Armed Gear of Gungnir opening to reveal a golden crystal that gathered all the nearby energy that it could. With a nod to each other, the two rushed forward with an incredible speed, one that Leia would replicate once she went to close the distance. "It's the starting line..."
Once the two came together, their auras clashed, the ground below them fading away and disintegrating as they tried to overpower each other.
(METANOIA)
(RESPLENDENT BLACK WING)
"...for our tightly bound melody!"
Leia tried to keep herself steady, but even when she went to burn away her life for another power increase, the duo in front of her continued to push back. They were in a deadlock, the energy from both attacks not giving an edge. Despite this, neither of the two parties wanted to give up.
No, it wasn't that they didn't want to give up.
It was that they couldn't give up.
With that promise the duo made, they had to bring Leia back safe and sound. They had already done enough damage as is, but here, it was their prerogative. As for Leia, the ideals she wore on her chest wouldn't allow her to stop here. She gave up too much in this battle for her to not get results here, so she was going to make it count.
"Graaaaaaaaah!"
"Horaaaaaaaaa!"
The two sides roared, but it would be Leia that made the final impactful move. She tilted her weapon slightly, giving her enough leverage to pour the energy from her wings into the blade. Once enough was fed to the sword, she used that same leverage to bring the sword down, causing the energy from both sides to come together for a single explosion that engulfed both parties. The resulting implosion of energy appeared in a luminescent pillar that cleared the grey clouds that rested above, that rainbow of color leaving behind a cloud of dust and debris in its wake, no one involved in the clash left to be found in the air with a crater below the impact zone.
Chris and Elfnein, seeing the result of their clash, flew up to the steaming crater, vigilant as they tried to seek out everyone that was caught up in that maelstrom of energy. When they finally spotted a human figure, they could see Miku and Hibiki, though they looked much worse for wear. Their Faust Robe and Gear respectively had damage all over them, ranging from a completely torn wing on Hibiki's X-Drive down to the broken shins of the Shénshòujìng, one of the shins completely gone while the other only had half of itself left. Most of the mirrors were sparking, leading to them being out of commission, similar to Hibiki's right gauntlet.
Ichaival's wielder was ready to jump down to get her friends, but before she could, she heard some movement in the rubble across from Hibiki and Miku. When the sound of rock hitting the ground reached everyone's ears, they saw Leia, bruised and beaten with a barely functioning Faust Robe. The wings on her back struggled to emit the energy that it once had, no longer draining power from the air as she leaned on her sword for support. The cape she adorned was now torn in half, barely reaching her waist as the horn on the left side of her head cracked.
"I won't...!"
The S.O.N.G. Adapters were surprised. Just how long would she keep fighting like this? It was almost like she spoke truth when she said that she would give her life up to fight for this. She pulled her sword from the ground, though she'd struggle to make steps towards her opponents. Each step she took felt like a monumental task, so much so that after the third step, she felt like she couldn't move another muscle, despite not even making it a quarter of the way there. She couldn't even use alchemy here, at least, not without burning something away. However, before she could make another step, another figure clad in black rushed towards her, tackling her to the ground.
"Laya...?"
Sure enough, the person that sent her to the ground was that older sister of hers, one who had tear streaks down her face as she wrapped her arms around her waist. Laya was grateful to see Leia still alive, knowing exactly what she would have done had no one intervened. She was so happy that it started the waterworks again. "Let's stop this, Sis..."
Leia's breath caught in her throat taking in this scene, knowing for a fact that even without the memories she burned away, she had never seen Laya cry like that before. Hearing her plea was much different compared to before. What were once annoying sounds of whining now sounded like tears of sorrow, now tugging at the alchemist's heart like never before. She didn't want to hear Laya ask like this, but now, it wasn't because she found it to be a disgusting display. Instead, now it was because she didn't want to feel anything herself. "Please..."
Leia had to think about her next words, her demeanor still showing a sense of wanting to feel superior. However, with Laya crying in her lap, it was much harder to do, especially with that blonde repeating the same phrase in her head over and over again ever since she remembered it.
"You only have one sister."
As Leia struggled to get any words out, Laya sniffled, her grip on her younger sister loosening ever-so-slightly. She didn't want to let go of her yet, but with the way she's been so far, she was lucky she was able to hold onto her this long. She took one of her arms and wiped her tears on her sleeve, making sure not to rub the blood on the sleeve of her X-Drive into her eyes. "I'll leave if you still want, but please, don't-"
Once Laya said that, Leia stopped her dead in her tracks, using most of the strength in her body to cover Laya's mouth. Part of her didn't want to finish that thought, because with all the context clues, it was safe to say that it would have been because of her, leading to more regret. The fact that this girl was crying over her, someone who didn't care about her tears, it shifted her world view. Laya's eyes widened, her sister holding her usual stern look. However, unlike before, this one had sadness behind its eyes.
"Is that... because of me?"
Leia's words put shock into Laya's mind. The alchemist never had such a sincere tone before outside of mocking her, so it made Laya perk up. "Huh...?" She was completely confused as Leia let her hand down, wondering if Leia really didn't remember the events that happened minutes prior. However, with that sincerity behind her eyes that looked down at the ground, Laya couldn't go straight into giving her a comedic remark. Leia couldn't remember if she said anything like that to her, but if she did, she felt awful about it.
"I..."
In addition to the words of that person from their past, she recalled what Hibiki and Miku said. She was flesh and blood, after all. There was no reason to be pushing her away. "If you're leaving because of me... don't," Leia spoke, a slight crack in her voice as opposed to her usual authoritative voice. Laya sniffled, but retorted, ready to question her sister's motives. "But before, you-"
Leia gritted her teeth, snapping back immediately and cutting her off.
"Is now really the time you're going to ignore what I say?"
Laya had no words for her twin's sudden change of heart. It was so sudden, it was almost like a show she watched where the villain changed sides after a stern talk. She would have never expected anything like that from Leia, the hard-headed bull of the Noire twins.
"As much as I don't want to... I..."
The penultimate chapter to the introduction arc of the Noire twins has been completed. "Final" chapter incoming next week, what will be the fate of the Noires?
Well, guess you have to continue reading to find out, won't you?