Sympho-Saber: Song of Swords
RXU:EP17 – Vanishing Song
World of Shrouded Sun:
"And you're sure about this?" Maria asked through her communicator, "A Phantom Megid has revealed itself?"
"From what we're seeing of the footage we're receiving and your descriptions, yes," Genjuro replied, "I need you all to deploy at once."
"Of course," Maria said as she looked around, noting that Ren and Ryo started to approach. She hung up before looking over, "You were complaining about wanting some action earlier, right?"
"Are we finally going to get something good?" Ren asked.
"What's the situation?" Ryo asked.
"The Phantom Megid we've discussed before has finally shown up and judging from what little descriptors were given, it's enhanced itself," Maria replied.
"We're going to need everyone's help for this then," Rintaro said, "Their regeneration is next level, especially when enhanced."
"Luckily you've got me to help you out," Ren called out as he crossed his arms with a smile, "Something silly like regeneration can't match up to my strength."
"Sounds like some heavy hitting is needed, which I can provide," Ryo said with a smirk as he pointed towards himself, "You can count on me."
"It's appreciated," Rintaro nodded.
"Hey don't think you're the only strong one," Ren said as he circled around to face his ally Swordsman, "When it comes down to it I'm no slouch myself."
"Whatever you say," Maria said, much to Swordsman of Wind's annoyance.
"So where is the fight happening anyway?" Tsubasa asked.
"Just follow my lead," Chris said as she pulled out her communicator, already getting detailed information on where the fight was taking place.
Saber and Espada leapt forward in tandem as Phantom-S chose to meet their charge. The anomaly used its wings to launch forward, raising its arms up to block against both Riders swings. The two Riders pushed further, electrical sparks and fiery wisps forming before the two dragged their blades down against Phantom-S' arms, lightning lashing out and fire raging as it was forced to take a few steps back.
Phantom-S had staggered as its arms recovered from the damage and quickly managed to regain its footing. Its horns began glowing and bending in various ways before growing larger and extending outwards like tendrils. It soon lashed out with its horn-like tendrils, forcing Saber and Espada away from each other. It twisted and smashed its tendrils in different directions, wanting to keep the Riders away for as long as possible.
Both Riders had taken note of this, watching as Phantom-S was casually making its way towards Hibiki while keeping them occupied. Either it had more awareness than they knew or it was simply hoping they'd be scared off by its strikes. Either way the two realized they needed to act fast, drawing out King of Arthur and Needle Hedgehog respectively.
[KING OF ARTHUR MM-HM!]
A spectral version of the Kingexcalibur slammed into the ground between Phantom-S and Hibiki, the two being separated as a result.
[NEEDLE HEDGEHOG MM-HM!]
Phantom-S backed up in surprise, quickly turning only to suddenly receive a burst of electrical needles piercing into its skin and electrifying its body.
[SHUUTOKU ISSEN!]
The result had stunned the anomaly, its tendrils breaking apart and dissolving as it tried to fight against the electrical charges being sent against it. It wasn't enjoying this, and it didn't like that both Riders had managed to close in too fast for its liking.
Saber and Espada both swung their swords in tandem, managing to slice into its body. They continued to assault Phantom-S, swinging again only for the anomaly to break out of the stun-lock it was in, unleashing its wings to block both of their slashes before flapping them to force them back.
Both Riders skidded backwards, the two quickly backing away from each other as Phantom-S launched forward and smashed its claws into the ground between them. Phantom-S quickly spread out its hands, forming fireballs and launching those outwards to keep pushing Saber and Espada away from each other and itself while it regenerated from the damage taken.
"Like that will work on us!" Saber called out as he and Espada tapped their extra Ride Books at the same time.
[SAIYUU JOURNEY!]
[TRI-CEBERUS!]
Saber leapt up, forming a red cloud beneath his feet that launched forward at high speeds. Likewise Espada formed an electrical elemental Familiar, the Tri-Cerberus, grabbing and quickly mounting it as it ran forward. Unlike Saber's mount however the Tri-Cerberus burst into lightning, closing the distance in seconds and ramming itself against Phantom-S.
Espada rolled off to where she was below Phantom-S, tapping her main Ride Book and thrusting her hand forward.
[LAMP DO ALANGINA!]
Lamp Do Alangina formed, spreading its arms out and keeping Phantom-S from trying to use its arms for a counter attack. The familiar's fists formed with electricity before launching a series of rapid-fire jabs against Phantom-S.
Phantom-S attempted to grab the Familiar only for its hands to be struck by the fiery blade that was Rekka, Saber having closed in with little issue thanks to his friend. He lit his blade on fire, striking against Phantom-S several times before spinning and performing a stronger slash, sending it backwards.
Saber and Espada both glanced at each other, nodding before rushing forward only to wince and brace as a powerful gust was sent their way. Phantom-S had deployed its wings, trying to use its new appendages to kick up enough force to blow the Riders away for a short while.
Hibiki grunted as she gripped the sides of her heads with both hands, still hearing the invasive voice. At least until she heard one final set of words before it went silent...
'Devour… devour your foe to win…'
She let out a light gasp as the voice and pain faded, panting heavily as she fully stood up, hunched forward before managing straighten herself out.
"Just what was that voice?" she asked herself before shaking her head, soon recognizing that Phantom-S was so distracted with trying to blow Saber and Espada that it didn't notice her anymore. She took a deep breath, placing a hand near her chest, "Balwisyall nescell Gungnir tron~"
Orange light erupted from her chest forming a pillar that soon dispersed to reveal her in the Gungnir Symphogear. The light had managed to catch Phantom-S' attention, it turning towards Hibiki and stopping its assault on the Riders.
"Huh?" Saber looked up in surprise before noticing something off, "Hibiki?"
"Is she feeling better?" Espada asked before letting out a light gasp, "No wait…"
Hibiki's transformation while complete also let out a strange wave of heat upon release, her body and armor shining more than usual. Despite this semi-noticeable change, Hibiki didn't seem to notice at all, simply focusing on Phantom-S.
"Perfect," Phantom-S said as it immediately began to approach Hibiki while extending its right hand forward, "Let us gather…"
"Gather, huh?" Hibiki asked as she began to make her way calmly towards Phantom-S, slowly extending her right hand forward as well. There was an almost trance-like look to her face, her eyes changing briefly to red only for her expression to change into one of concentration, "Alright…"
Saber seemed to notice this brief change, tensing slightly while Espada was on guard. That was until they took notice that while Hibiki was making her way forward, she was adopting a crouched fighting stance.
The anomaly of a monster seemed to realize this, instantly holding the clawed tips of its right hand together before launching a burst of energy out towards Hibiki. The Gungnir Wielder had dodged in an instant, closing in only to flip upwards, her boot striking Phantom-S in the chin and forcing it back. She landed before boosting forward, striking her palm against its lower gut to force it to stagger back. Phantom-S unleashed a burst of wind from its wings, trying to force Hibiki back for its next attack.
Hibiki however had leapt upwards to avoid the gust, quickly dropping down and performing an axe-kick against Phantom-S' head. She let out a gasp though once Phantom-S unleashed its energy tendrils out from its horns, managing to wrap around and ensnare her. She winced at the anomaly's grip tightening and restricting her movements.
"Join…" Phantom-S said as it shifted Hibiki to where it was in front of it, reaching out with a hand and nearly grasping at Hibiki herself, its finger managing to tap against her chest near her scar only to gasp out.
[REKKA/IKAZUCHI IAI!]
Fire and Lightning crashed against the anomaly's back, the lightning striking and tearing it up as the flames washed and spread through the wounds, opening them up further.
[DOKUGO ISSEN!]
"Must fight through pain…" Phantom-S gasped as it felt Saber and Espada trying to grab at its arms, spreading its wings to try and force them away.
"Let go of her!" Espada shouted.
"Yeah, we don't know what you want but you're not hurting her!" Saber called out.
"Touma… Miku…" Hibiki gasped out as she heard this, slowly but surely managing to break free of her bindings, forcing Phantom-S to reel its hand back, "Get your damn tendrils off of me!"
The four combatants all yelled out however as lightning struck against them. The strikes had managed to tear apart the bindings holding Hibiki, but also forcing everyone to back away from each other. Hibiki landed in a crouched state, grabbing her arm as she had visible injuries alongside her armoring being damaged, the glow and heat around her fading.
Saber and Espada both fell to one knee, the duo panting as they kept their swords held as high as they could in their crouched states.
Phantom-S meanwhile had staggered, kicking its healing into overdrive as it tried to recover from the assault only to quickly raise its arms. It blocked against Zooous' blades, the Megid General having transformed and closed in while everyone was distracted.
"That felt so good…" Legeiel let out a chuckle as he walked into view, already in his monstrous form. He raised his sword towards Phantom-S, "That being said, I'm taking back Storious' Book you damn freak."
"You've definitely got some nerve copying him," Zooous remarked with a hiss as he unleashed a burst of energy from his blades, forcing Phantom-S to skid back, "So you'd best be prepared to feel our wrath!"
"Exactly," Legeiel called out as he rushed towards Phantom-S, planning on pushing the anomaly back further with Zooous' help.
"Not the backup I was hoping for, but…" Saber grunted as he lifted himself up thanks to Espada who was already up, "Thanks."
"No problem," Espada said as she hurried over to Hibiki, "Hey, are you alright?"
"I'm fine…" Hibiki said with a wince as she began to stand only to let out a gasp as she felt her knees buckle, falling forward. Espada quickly caught her with Saber going to help her brace further, "Just fine…"
"You need help," Saber insisted, noticing a few cuts on her, some of them bleeding out.
"Touma, Miku!"
"Huh?" Saber turned as he watched the rest of his team alongside Section 2L's Riders and Wielders hurry over, "Everyone!"
"Hey, what's going on?" Ren asked as he looked at the fight taking place, "That's that Phantom Megid thing that's been mentioned right, why is it fighting the others?"
"If you were there you'd know that they only name it that because of how it looks," Chris remarked, "The Phantom Megid are the natural predators of anyone with a Relic or similar object, and that includes the Megid."
"So just beat them both up, got it," Ren replied as he went to draw Hayate to prepare his transformation.
"Should we even get involved though?" Ryo asked, "It looks like we'd just get in the way."
"It would be best if we handled it," Rintaro replied, "I've been to another world where they've challenged one before, and it managed to devour Zooous."
"We can't let that happen then," Tsubasa replied with a grimace, "As nice as it would be to get the Megid taken care of, we don't need something stronger taking their place."
"Then let's take it on together," Maria said as she stepped forward before looking over at the two active Riders, noticing the state Hibiki was in, "You two stay back and keep Hibiki safe."
"No need to tell us twice," Espada replied.
"Yeah, just leave it to us," Saber replied.
"No… not right…" Phantom-S managed to get out as it crossed its arms, defending from a slash by Legeiel before being blown backwards by an explosive strike from Zooous. It allowed itself to lift up into the air before stopping on a dime while spreading its wings, "Must reconsider plan…"
"Huh?" Legeiel watched as Phantom-S turned away, "Where do you think you're going?!"
"It's running again?!" Zooous questioned.
"Advantage… must seek it…" Phantom-S said to itself as it quickly flew off, unleashing a burst of energy from itself to fly off faster, avoiding a few lightning strikes that tried to hit it.
"Like hell we're letting it go," Legeiel said as he leapt into the air, landing on a building before leaping off after Phantom-S.
"Time to keep on the hunt," Zooous let out a low growl as he dismissed his weapons before leaping after Legeiel to continue the pursuit.
"Oh come on!" Ren called out with a whine as he pointed towards the now empty battleground, "They ran again?!"
"They didn't disappear though," Ryo said before looking back, "What do you guys think?"
"We need to pursue," Chris replied, "If they pin it down they'll start fighting again and considering their disregard for human life, that's more collateral."
"You're damn right we need to pursue," Hibiki said with a wince as she managed to push herself out of Saber and Espada's grip, "Those Megid… can't… get away…" she let out a light gasp as she fell unconscious, her transformation dismissing itself as Saber and Espada quickly caught her.
"We need to get her treated," Saber said as he and Espada dismissed their transformations, "Can we get it done back at your guys' base?"
"Of course," Tsubasa nodded, "But considering our current situation…"
"We'll split up," Chris spoke up, deciding to take command since there were too many things that needed to be done, and too little time to waste, "Ryo, Ren and Rintaro will come with me. You take the others back to base Tsubasa."
"Sounds fine by me then," Tsubasa said as she looked over at the otherworldly Riders and Wielder, "That sound alright by you guys?"
"That's fine by me," Maria agreed.
"I'll provide whatever assistance I can," Rintaro nodded.
World of Sympho-Saber:
"There we go, that's it," Daishinji said as he was currently working through the data that was being built before him, Elfnein assisting by injecting her alchemical know-how every now and again, "We're getting close to a breakthrough here."
"Thankfully needing to get it right like this means we won't have to worry about a long wait time," Elfnein replied, "Unlike with King Lion Dai Senki."
"Unfortunately our trick of utilizing another Relic is giving us an issue," Daishinji put a hand to his chin as he looked at what was going on with the data, "Gungnir's counterbalancing Shénshòujìng and allowing it to not overtake and destroy the Ride Book. However Gungnir being stationary like this is causing too many fluctuations. We need to utilize its properties somehow to spread it out in an even manner but I'm not sure how…"
"Hmm…" Elfnein hummed as she tried to think of a solution to their current roadblock.
The two however yelped as the door suddenly opened, both broken out of their concentrative states while looking over.
"We've got an issue!" Genjuro called out as he slammed his hand against the edge of the doorway that led into the workshop, "There's a Phantom Megid signal and Hibiki's condition is worsening!"
"What?" Daishinji asked in surprise, "But what about Yuri? Isn't he-"
"He's noted that despite helping keep it at bay, the infection is spreading at a faster rate now," Genjuro explained, "He can only do so much without straining himself."
"Not good," Daishinji hissed out before sighing, "I take it you're telling me because you'll need me to mobilize soon, correct?"
"Yes," Genjuro replied, "While I don't want to leave us defenseless I realize that if we don't give the others some extra help, that Hibiki might…"
"Have faith in Touma and Miku," Daishinji replied, "But I'll make sure I'm prepared to move out."
"Right," Genjuro replied before looking over, "So how's progress on the Shénshòujìng Symphogear?"
"We're hoping to give Miku a much needed boost," Daishinji replied, "Though we're running into the issue of trying to complete it. We've got data and pieces of the Gungnir we received to help keep Shénshòujìng from tearing the Ride Book apart. Thankfully they're surprisingly compatible, likely from the data we added of both their users."
"Gungnir, huh," Genjuro nodded, "Despite their fighting against each other during Frontier, Hibiki and Miku are quite the pair."
"But we've run into the issue where Gungnir's causing fluctuations in the stability due to being only a stationary part," Daishinji replied, "Though I'm unsure of what exactly we could use it for in the transformation."
"Pair… Transformation…" Elfnein trailed as she repeated the terms before she let out a light gasp as inspiration suddenly formed, "That's it! I think I know exactly what we can use Gungnir for!"
"Wait, you do?" Genjuro looked over in surprise.
"What exactly did you have in mind?" Daishinji asked, more than ready to start working on Elfnein's idea.
World of Shrouded Sun:
The Phantom Megid and Megid Leaders had all managed to slip away from detection. That didn't mean the search was called off however, Chris and her team flying above the city via helicopter in order to try and spot any sign of the Megid.
Meanwhile Tsubasa's team had gone by car to get Hibiki checked out at Section 2L's medical wing. However when it came to both sides of the operation, it was a long wait, so long that it had already started to shift from night to day with morning on the horizon. There were a lot of breaks, switching shifts, as while everything was calm for the time being, there was still a tense feeling in the air.
When it came to those at Section 2L, Maria had decided to break off from everyone to meet with Mei. This was mostly to get a bit more clarity on certain aspects of the current situation. Of course she was surprised to see the two up and already deep in several files at Mei's station, a couple of coffee cups nearby.
"So what do you think?" Mei asked.
"That might be just what she needs," Kamikawa replied, "We should-" he cut himself off and looked over his shoulder before smiling, "How's the situation going?"
"As alright as it can," Maria replied, "Though there's admittedly something I was hoping I could get Mei's help with."
"Oh?" Mei looked over, "What did you need?"
"When it comes down to it, we'll likely be done with this world soon," Maria replied, "And while we can freely travel from world to world, it's not like we'll be able to visit all the time."
"So what exactly brought this line of thought up?" Mei asked.
"I'm mostly worried about this world's Hibiki and her situation," Maria replied, "When it comes down to it, she'll be losing her closest friends again after we wrap up."
"That is true," Kamikawa replied with a light hum.
"Well there is…" Mei trailed off as she was still unsure on her idea.
"We have an idea," Kamikawa spoke up, not wanting Mei to get discouraged, "But if you have any suggestions, we'd be happy to hear them."
"Do you think you could look up Touma Kamiyama's parents?" Maria asked, "Hansuke and Michiko Kamiyama are their names."
"Sure thing," Mei said as she turned back and went through a few keystrokes, "Thankfully since I still have Touma's file up I can easily get to theirs. What did you want to know?"
"I want to know where they are now," Maria replied, "From what I recall of what Touma told me, they liked to travel from time to time though I'm unsure if it's the same here."
"Oh," Mei said as she tapped a few more buttons, "Says here that they haven't traveled much since the Zwei Wing Concert, they've been focused on running their business, Fantastic Bookstore Kamiyama."
"Perfect," Maria smiled as she knew what she needed to do.
"What exactly do you plan on doing with this information?" Kamikawa asked, though he had an idea.
"I just want to see if they remember Hibiki and if they'd be willing to help her out when this is all said and done," Maria replied.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Mei asked with a hint of concern, "Considering what happened to their Touma…"
"It's a risk I'm willing to take," Maria replied, "I'll head off immediately."
"Actually, would you mind if Mei tagged along with you?" Kamikawa asked.
"Eh, wait what?" Mei asked as she pointed to herself, "Me?"
"I don't mind," Maria replied, "But why exactly does Mei need to come along?"
"Well depending on how you're asking questions, she might be needed to help provide an alibi," Kamikawa replied, "You know, better be safe than sorry."
"I suppose that's true," Maria relented, the logic feeling sound enough.
"But wait," Mei looked over at the older man, "What about-"
"Don't worry, don't worry," Kamikawa answered as he put his hands on Mei's shoulders before gently pushing her towards Maria, "Just leave it to me, I'll see what I can do."
"Ah alright then," Mei nodded before walking over to Maria, "Then I guess we're teaming up for now."
"It'll be a pleasure," Maria gave a smile before going to head out of the main command center with Mei.
Kamikawa meanwhile walked back over to Mei's station, sitting down and going backwards through files before finding Miku Kohinata's file. He then began looking deeper into her history or rather her more recent history as he wanted to make sure everything went smoothly.
Lightning struck all around the open field near a forest, Phantom-S landing and sliding to a stop as Legeiel and Zooous pursued relentlessly. The duo had managed to force the anomaly to flee to a more isolated location, both hoping that their lack of presence in the city would make Section 2L back off.
It seemed to be that way for a while, both Megid Leaders giving everything they had to try and further damage Phantom-S. That was until a helicopter began to hover high above the battlefield, lights of red, orange, green, and blue leaping out from the open doors.
"~ Killter Ichaival tron~"
Chris was to first to make a move, managing to fall in a standing position as she aimed her bow-rifle downwards. Closing one eye to get better aim as she continued to drop she pulled the trigger once read, unleashing arrow after arrow of energy to strike and disrupt the fight.
[ITTOU RYODAN! DOGOUKEN GEKIDO!]
"You're going to be dealing with me, pal!"
Buster had crashed between Zooous and the others, yelling out and swinging downwards with Gekido, forcing the Megid to block his assault.
"I don't have time for this!" Zooous called out as he dismissed the blades he was blocking with before grabbing onto Gekido, "So get out of the way before I gobble you up!"
Buster however yelled out as he managed to break Gekido free of his opponent's grip, soon swinging it once he was close enough, "How about you get a taste of this?!"
[SOU TOU BUNDAN! FUUSOUKEN HAYATE!]
Legeiel gave a light gasp as he quickly dodged out of the way of a speed Kenzan who slashed at him. He quickly raised his sword, blocking a swinging strike from the Swordsman of Wind before backing away.
"While I'd rather deal with that Phantom freak, a Megid Leader isn't too bad either," Kenzan said as he entered a fighting stance.
"Don't mock me!" Legeiel called out as he aimed towards Kenzan before stabbing downwards, "I still have business with that abomination!"
Suddenly two slabs of rock erupted from both sides of Kenzan, the Rider of Wind looking at both before they slammed shut against him. The slamming of the rocks had caused them to crack before shattering only to reveal that Kenzan was no longer there.
"Huh?" Legeiel looked up in surprise.
"That's not going to work on me!" Kenzan called out, having leapt high in the air at the last second before spinning downwards and becoming a spiraling blade of wind that soon clashed against Legeiel's raised blade.
Phantom-S saw the two distractions and quickly turned to fly off only for watery blasts to strike at its wings. They were rendered wet but also torn through due to the force of the water blasts.
[NAGARE BATTOU! KING LION DAISENKI!]
It turned, shrieking out as Blades landed while slicing Nagare into it. The anomaly attempted to grab on only for Blades to immediately punch with the Lion Booster.
[BURST!]
A burst of water occurred, striking against Phantom-S and forcing it back. Before it could attempt to move forward its elbows and knees were struck by beam arrows in rapid succession. This caused it to lose most of its balance, allowing Blades to close in with several slashes, performing an upper-slash to launch the anomaly backwards.
"Alright, we can do this," Blade said as he glanced back at Chris who was providing covering fire to him. He simply nodded before rushing towards Phantom-S.
"The plan's going well so far," Chris said to herself as she took in the situation around her, "Split up the Megid to keep them from confronting the anomaly. Then focus the strongest fighter on the anomaly while I provide support when necessary. If we keep this up, then this will work out."
Hibiki let out a light groan as she began to wake up, noticing that she was in a dark room. The only actual light source was the light from outside, it illuminating the room enough to reveal it was a hospital room. She let out a light grunt as she began to pick herself up, noticing that she was alone. Upon looking around she saw one of Lydian's buildings close by and realized she was brought to the hospital that was connected to the school.
She recalled briefly waking up only to pass out again, and she was sure she had been brought to Section 2L's base. So she assumed they had moved her to the hospital so she could rest and recover.
Taking note of her current state she saw that there were some bandages but she wasn't in much pain despite how she had felt earlier. She wasn't exactly sure what to do in this situation until she heard voices she recognized as Touma's and Miku's.
Of course then she heard somewhat unfamiliar voices, recalling them as part of Section 2L but not much else. She kept quiet, slowly and silently getting out of the bed before walking towards the door to listen in on the conversation that was happening outside.
"Unfortunately medical results might take a few days," Ryoko replied as she, Tsubasa, and Genjuro were talking to the two Riders outside of the room, "Luckily we had old records on hand when we first made contact with her so we can give you the rundown given your concerns."
"Events seemed to have transpired similarly enough," Genjuro replied, "So hopefully this intuitive guess of yours will give us more clarity."
"Hopefully," Touma replied, "I'm just glad you all have some records. I know she hasn't worked with you all but…"
"Thankfully we were able to get one medical examination in before she went to avoid us entirely," Ryoko replied before holding out a tablet and showing an X-Ray revealing multiple small shards close to Hibiki's heart.
"I figured," Touma replied, "If that event happened in a similar enough way…"
"The Gungnir shards…" Miku trailed.
"So you are aware of what they are," Ryoko replied, "After conducting enough research based on the data we had we were able to find out they were from the same Gungnir Kanade held."
"I can only assume something similar happened then for you all," Tsubasa replied, "Kanade's sync rate was weakening but she went to protect Hibiki. The result caused her armor to break and fatally wound Hibiki in the chest."
"Yeah, that's exactly what happened to ours," Miku nodded.
"While I can only guess so far," Ryoko spoke up, "I assume that it being directly a part of her body is allowing her that incredible and explosive strength she has access to."
"So why exactly ask for these results?" Genjuro asked.
"Simple, if this is progressing similar to how it did in our world then Hibiki's life is in danger," Touma answered, "The Gungnir Relic is going to continue to grow and evolve, fusing further with Hibiki, and if she continues to fight then…"
"Her life is in grave danger," Miku interrupted as she looked around, "And we can't just leave this alone given this is her life at stake."
"I take it you all managed to help your Hibiki, right?" Tsubasa asked.
"Yes, but in order to do that…" Touma trailed off as he looked over at Miku.
"We'll probably need to go back to our world to figure out how we can use Shénshòujìng," Miku replied, "The light that Relic radiates should be enough to stop Gungnir from encroaching on her."
"But there's also another potential issue," Touma replied, "That something else is inside of Hibiki right now."
"What do you mean?" Tsubasa asked.
"We should have found a Phantom Megid by now, especially if it's specifically targeting the Hibiki of our world," Touma replied, "And there's the fact that Hibiki told us she took care of one already."
"What are you suggesting?" Miku asked before giving a gasp as she realized what her friend was getting at, "The reason our Hibiki is affected is because the Phantom Megid that was killed wasn't really killed, but it entered this Hibiki's body?"
"What?" Genjuro asked as he looked over at Touma who nodded, "How can you be so sure?"
"The Phantom Megid piece in our Hibiki is sending out negative energy into her body to poison her," Touma replied, "And considering that this Hibiki is essentially the opposite of ours…"
"So you're saying that this Phantom Megid is hiding out in our Hibiki and using its severed piece to create a connection between her and yours?" Tsubasa asked, "But how?"
"I'm thinking it might have latched onto this Hibiki's Gungnir when it died," Touma replied, "Regardless we need to do something soon."
"And you're sure this theory isn't just a theory?" Genjuro asked.
"Well I've noticed something off about this Hibiki," Touma replied, while he wasn't sure about the trance-like state or the voice she muttered about, there was still one odd thing he saw for certain, "She mentioned being hungrier than usual and a Phantom Megid's instinct is to eat."
"There's also something I should probably note given the information I have on hand," Ryoko replied, "While we were treating her, the wounds she received were closing up at high speeds. A few remained but it's like she was able to regenerate from most of the damage."
"How is this possible?" Tsubasa asked as the others stared in surprise.
"The idea of Relic Fusion is an idea, especially given how long Gungnir has been in her," Ryoko replied, "But we were told the Phantom Megid can regenerate from grievous injuries… so if one was inside her…"
"I think we have a way to separate both her and the Phantom Megid from each other," Touma replied, recalling Rekka's new power alongside Saikou, "Plus we'll need to see how we can use Shénshòujìng to rid her of Gungnir."
Hibiki let out a low but heavy breath as she stared at the door, having gotten close to it to listen in only to back away at the news. She quickly went to undo a bandage from her arm, her eyes widening when she saw a cut she still had suddenly closed and healed up, the pain dulling before vanishing entirely.
'What the hell…? Is what they're saying…?'
'True? No.'
'What?'
'They want to get rid of you, so they're making excuses to abandon you…'
'No, Touma and Miku, they wouldn't… I just heard them-'
'They are only but temporary replacements towards the two you've already lost. You know that.'
'But even so… I want to-'
'Believe in the two that only help you because it's convenient for their actual friend? You know why they're here, why would they actually care about you?'
'I… they…'
'They're just going to abandon you after all of this…'
'You don't know that.'
'They see you as an obstacle to their friend's safety, and once they're done you won't have any power left… you'll be worthless just like you were before…'
Hibiki let out a light gasp as she suddenly found herself in a ruined stadium at sunset, her eyes widening as she recognized the area almost instantly. In an instant she gripped at her shirt only to feel something off, quickly looking down only to back away and nearly fall over as her clothing had turned to bright white but were now stained by ashes, her arms and legs also being stained.
"What…?"
Monster!
Murderer!
Freak!
Killer!
Ash suddenly erupted out from most of the seats in the surrounding area, forming ashen human-like figures that all began shouting and yelling down at the main stage Hibiki was on.
Why did you get to live while I died?!
Who do you think you even are?!
You killed all of us!
"That's not…!" Hibiki shouted as she stepped forward, light shining over her as she entered her Symphogear only to hear screams from behind her. She turned only to find herself in a classroom as the floor cracked as she stepped on it, "What?"
She saw several girls younger than her in junior high uniforms could be seen, all of them cowering in fear as they screamed near bloody murder towards her.
Hibiki could only step back at this, staring down at her armor with her eyes widening as it was stained in red. She quickly looked up only to see that the girls had vanished, "No I'm not… this isn't-!"
She had backed away only to bump into something, quickly turning only to be back in the stadium, her armor gone as at her neck was the blade of katana. Tsubasa was the one now in front of her, though the Wielder of Ame no Habakiri's armor resembled its appearance during the concert attack. Even with this change, it didn't do much to distract from the hardened and disgusted look on Tsubasa's face. The expression struck directly into Hibiki's very soul as she stepped back, the floor cracking further.
"You're nothing but a monster," Tsubasa said coldly as she withdrew her blade before raising it high and swinging it down with both hands, "One that needs to be eliminated!"
Hibiki winced as she took a step back while raising her arms only for the ground to break beneath her, the entire area shattering as she fell into a black abyss. She tried to gasp or shout out but could only choke on her own words as she felt herself losing consciousness.
'The only true way to free yourself from this deep pit is to devour… devour everything and become unchained. Only then can you truly shape your life.'
"Become unchained…" Hibiki muttered as her eyes grew dull in coloration before walking towards the window. She stared at it a long while, oblivious to her reflection which had bright red eyes instead of her usual color and taking a deep breath, "Balwisyall nescell Gungnir tron~"
An orange burst of light was released from her chest, transforming her into her Symphogear, the burst of energy tearing through the room and causing damage to it. The result was her shattering the windows in an instant, lifting her body onto the edge and grabbing onto the window to keep balanced.
Of course her song and transformation hadn't gone unnoticed, the group outside having rushed in only to brace upon the destructive result of the transformation.
Touma's eyes widened, "Hibiki!"
Hibiki glanced back at the group, her dull grey eyes flashing and turning into a bright red before she simply smirked. In an instant she pushed away from the window, launching out of it to escape from the room.
"What's going on?" Miku asked.
"That wasn't her," Tsubasa said with a slight shiver as she gripped her arm and stumbled back into Genjuro who steadied her, "Those were the eyes of a monster…"
"Did the Phantom Megid take control?" Genjuro asked, "Can it do that?!"
"Whether it can or can't, there's another big issue," Ryoko replied, "Where is she even going?"
Touma and Miku thought about it for a bit before gasping as they recalled the fight that had put Hibiki in the hospital in the first place.
"We need to go after her immediately!" Touma called out in panic, "Because I think she's going to make good on that other Phantom Megid's want of gathering!"
"I'll get you a transport immediately then," Genjuro offered.
"No time," Miku said as she drew out Lamp do Alangina, "This should be faster."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Tsubasa asked.
Maria and Mei meanwhile had managed to reach their destination of Fantastic Bookstore Kamiyama, the duo taking in the shop as they entered. The shop itself was essentially identical to the one in the main world barring a few minor differences.
At the main desk was Michiko Kamiyama, currently writing down some notes as she had a laptop out, going through some research notes she had been given recently. Cleaning the general storefront was Hansuke who was nearby a table that didn't seem to be in the main world's iteration of the shop.
The two paused when they heard the doorbell, the two turning and giving warm welcoming smiles to Maria and Mei.
"Ah hello there," Hansuke spoke up as he moved away from the table, a duster in hand.
"What brings you two here today?" Michiko added.
"Oh, I had heard of a highly rated bookstore and felt like checking it out for a friend," Maria said with a courteous smile, already having an alibi.
"Admittedly, I don't think I've seen a bookstore like this," Mei said as she looked around, impressed by Maria's professionalism but also curious about the bookstore, "It looks very colorful, though there doesn't seem to be much of a selection."
"Ah right," Michiko said as she pulled out a tablet and walked over, "Our selection is in the back storage, though we do have a catalog you're able to look through so we can get it for you. There's also a website most people use to place their orders as well."
"Ooh very convenient," Mei said as she took the tablet and went to look through it, "I do like to read on my down time."
"Do you have a favorite story or book if you don't mind me asking?" Michiko asked.
"The North Wind and the Sun," Mei answered in a surprisingly quick fashion before giving an earnest smile, "Because I like warm days better than cold ones!"
"I'm not sure if that's the point of the story," Michiko remarked though couldn't help but giggle at Mei's takeaway.
"I know, right?" Mei replied with a chuckle as well.
Maria couldn't help but give a small smile as she saw Michiko and Mei get quickly enraptured in conversation. Of course she looked over and noticed the table she was sure wasn't in Touma's, especially one that had a couple of pictures up and what looked like candles. She began to walk over which Hansuke took note of.
Of course what Maria wasn't expecting at the small table were several pictures of Touma alongside two candles in the center, acting as a shrine almost.
"I see you got curious," Hansuke said as he walked over, "We're not one for anything fancy, but we thought we'd make something of a shrine for our late son at the storefront."
"Oh, what ended up happening if you don't mind me asking?" Maria asked, feigning ignorance.
"Him and his friend were caught up in a Noise attack at a concert," Hansuke explained with a somber look on his face, "He didn't end up making it…"
"I'm sorry for your loss," Maria said.
"Thanks for your kind words," Hansuke replied, "But, I'm more worried about her…"
Maria glanced over, "Who?"
"The girl with the cream hair," Hansuke said as he went to take a picture that had Hibiki, Miku and Touma in it, it having been taken before the concert incident, "We didn't learn till later because we were too busy grieving, but she's been through a lot of scrutiny due to her surviving. What didn't help was the girl with dark hair ended up moving, so not only was she likely grieving over my son, she probably didn't have anyone to truly support her. And that's not even getting into what we found out about her family's situation."
"I see," Maria replied.
"I'm sorry if I'm just rambling all this information out," Hansuke apologized, "It's just, not many people ask I guess…"
"No it's fine, I can imagine getting to talk about it helps you process everything," Maria replied before pausing slightly, realizing she had a chance now, "Have you tried getting in contact with the cream-haired girl er…"
"Her name's Hibiki," Hansuke replied, "And we tried but by the time we contacted her family she had moved to study and board at Lydian."
"Ah, that would make things difficult," Maria replied, "But… I still think you should try and find some way of getting in contact with her. If she really is suffering like you think she is, then she could use whatever help she can get."
"I suppose so, my wife's been insistent about it too," Hansuke nodded as he went to hold the framed picture close with both hands as he lowered his head, "I know a lot of people disliked her because she ended up surviving… but I don't think we could ever blame her, even with our son's death."
"You have a strong heart in that case," Maria complimented as she patted Hansuke's arm a bit before suddenly feeling her borrowed communicator sound off, "Excuse me," she said before walking away and taking it out, making sure it was low enough volume as she answered, "This is Maria."
"Maria, we've got an issue involving Hibiki," Genjuro answered, "We need you to head out as soon as possible and for Mei to return to base."
"Got it, we'll head out in a second," Maria said before cutting communications and hurrying over to Mei, "Mei we need to go."
"Eh? But I haven't even picked out anything yet," Mei replied, "And what about-"
"Everything will be fine," Maria reassured, "And you can come back tomorrow or something, but this is urgent."
"Alright, alright," Mei sighed before giving a quick bow towards Michiko, "Sorry about that."
"No it's fine," Michiko waved it off as she watched Maria and Mei head out the door, "What a lively pair."
"Yeah," Hansuke said with a nod, still holding onto the framed photo.
Blades let out a yell, punching and slashing in tandem before unleashing a blast from his cannons that forced Phantom-S back further.
"Let's push this a bit further and end this Rintaro," Chris said as she took aim, energy charging in the barrel of her weapon before she heard feedback on her headset, "This is Chris, what is it?"
"Hibiki Tachibana is supposedly under the control of a Phantom Megid that went under the radar and was absorbed into her days prior," Genjuro spoke out as fast as he could, "She's approaching your location rapid-"
SMASH!
Chris winced and raised her arm to cover her as something had impacted nearby, the force of the crash having sent out shockwaves that forced everyone to turn and brace. When the dust began to settle, it was soon revealed that Hibiki was the one who had crash landed. While her expression was mostly obscured, Blades and Chris were able to see it well.
The piercing red eyes Hibiki had recently obtained were on full display, as was an uncharacteristic malicious smirk across her lips. She simply raised her arm before holding out her hand in the direction of Blades, though the Rider glanced back as he realized she wasn't gesturing towards him but Phantom-S.
"Gather…"
"She's already here," Chris said as she placed a hand on her headset, "What do we do?"
"Whatever you do, do not let her absorb the Phantom Megid," Genjuro answered, "The others are on the way, but…"
"Understood," Chris replied as she went to take aim at Hibiki.
Hibiki stayed where she was, still smirking as she kept her hand extended.
Phantom-S let out a visible shudder, though one was unsure if this was one of anxiety or one of fear. It was revealed to be the latter when it immediately launched away from Blades and towards Legeiel with a shriek.
"Wait, what?!" Blades turned in shock.
Hibiki lowered her hand, still smirking as she glanced over, "Perfect."
"Huh?" Kenzan turned only to quickly leap out of the way as Phantom-S swiped at him, "Hey I thought Blades was handling this guy!"
"I have you now!" Legeiel let out a yell as he turned stabbing his blade into Phantom-S' neck. He let out a roar as his blade lit on fire and lashed out with electricity as he dragged it downwards. Soon enough he cut open the center of Phantom-S' body only to let out a grunt as he couldn't pull his sword away.
"Must not gather, must overwhelm this one… or be overwhelmed…" Phantom-S gasped out as it grasped its open wound before opening it further. It was soon revealed that inner tendrils had latched onto Legeiel's sword and wrapped around it.
"Crap, Legeiel!" Zooous yelled out as he began to rush forward only for several beams of energy to stop him, "What?!"
"We're not about to let that thing get you too!" Chris called out, "Ryo!"
"You don't need to tell me twice!" Buster called out as he went to grab onto Zooous to hold him down, "There's no way you're making that thing stronger!"
"Shut up! Let go of me!" Zooous yelled out as he struggled.
"Ren, try and save Legeiel!" Chris called out as she went to aim only for her rifle to suddenly get batted upwards. She let out a light gasp as she saw Hibiki had somehow closed in without her noticing, "What?!"
"I can't allow you to ruin the gathering," Hibiki answered before unleashing a punch but not connecting with it, the mere force of it launching Chris backwards with a shriek.
"Ah!" Blades let out a yell as he hurried over towards the alternate Wielder, "Are you okay?!"
Legeiel let out a gasp of disgust, ready to let go of his weapon when the tendrils wrapped around the rest of his sword in an instant, tying his hands down to the hilt of it, "Huh?!"
"No you don't!" Kenzan called out as he leapt upwards, planning to drop down at high speeds to deal with the tendrils only to let out a cough as he was suddenly kicked in the gut. He could only look up, his eyes widening as Hibiki had somehow managed to speed towards and counter him, "How-?!"
"Don't get in the way!" Hibiki called out as she spun and unleashed a spinning kick that Kenzan barely blocked against, managing to send him crashing down against the ground.
Kenzan could only gasp out as he winced at his back slamming against the ground, coughing as he let go of his weapons.
"Must overwhelm… must overwhelm…" Phantom-S continued to chant as larger tendrils lashed out and grabbed Legeiel. Once enough were wrapped around they were pulled inwards at high speeds, it forcing Legeiel into its body before it allowed its wound to close up. The wound began healing as a bright light emanated from it, washing over and transforming its body further.
Soon enough Phantom-S had gained Legeiel's chest armor and front mask alongside his legs and feet, it now becoming a combination of a lesser Megid and two of the Megid Leaders.
Buster let out a yelp as he was shoved away by Zooous, only to take note of how the Megid Leader was acting, "What?"
"No way…" Zooous let out a light gasp, taking a step back as he began to shake, "This is…"
The Megid Leader felt all his anger leaving him as he felt was something he didn't think he'd ever experience, a pure primal fear. He took another step back once Phantom-SL turned towards him in an instant. With a loud yell he gathered energy in his hands and clawed in front of him, releasing a burst of energy while vanishing.
"Did he just run?" Blades questioned.
"Two out of three isn't too bad though," Hibiki remarked as she looked towards Phantom-SL, slowly but surely approaching it, "This is what I've been waiting for, now it's time to gather."
"Overwhelm…" Phantom-SL answered before bringing out Storious' sword and slashing downwards, "Overhwelm!"
Hibiki answered by blocking with her arm, holding it back before quickly slipping back to avoid it. Phantom-SL attempted to go for a counter swing only for Hibiki to leap up and slam her boot into its face, the force from her attack managing to launch it backwards.
Phantom-SL crashed into a nearby tree, breaking it and causing the top to fall onto it.
"Brute force it is then," Hibiki said as she began to walk towards the fallen anomaly.
"Rintaro, Ryo!" Chris let out a gasp as she managed to get in a sitting position as she tried to force herself up, "Don't let her get to the Phantom Megid!"
"No need to tell me twice!" Buster yelled out as he charged while keeping Gekido aimed forward, planning on ramming her with the tip of it to drag her away, "Rintaro!"
"Of course," Blades said as he charged up energy before launching it at Hibiki to distract her, "I'm sorry for this Hibiki!"
Hibiki could only smirk, simply shifting her body as her scarf began to move and lash out while shining a bright red. It managed to deflect the blasts, having them strike near where Buster was and force the Rider of Earth to brace as explosions kicked up near him.
The possessed Gungnir Wielder simply smirked as she quickly raised her arm, blocking a follow up charge and strike from Blades who had swung at her with Nagare.
"Are you really sure you want to be near me right now?" Hibiki asked.
"I will be bringing you back to your senses!" Blades called out, "Your threatening to devour my equipment won't work."
"Who said I was talking about me?" Hibiki asked.
"Overwhelm!"
Suddenly the ground began tearing itself apart in a line towards the two, lightning suddenly lashing out and striking all over. The strikes were so strong and hard they caused minor explosions, Blade letting out a yell as he was sent rolling away.
Hibiki meanwhile managed to slip away from the Rider while leaping back, curling into a ball and spinning backwards before landing away from the lightning strikes.
Phantom-SL launched out from the smoke, it bringing out Legeiel's sword this time as it held it in both hands before slamming it down against Hibiki who stepped to the side to avoid it. Phantom-SL continued to swing, Hibiki easily avoiding the strikes before striking the anomaly in the gut with her boot to force it away from her.
Hibiki went to approach only to cross her arms against a block, bracing against Phantom-SL throwing its sword at lightning speed against her. She winced as she staggered back, her arms being pushed away as she was seemingly left open for an assault.
Phantom-SL immediately used this to leap in, planning on grabbing and slamming Hibiki into the ground. Once it landed it smashed into the ground with so much force it created a small dust cloud. Of course it knew something was wrong when it felt that it didn't grab or land on anything. Before it could turn its stomach was pierced through by a hand, soon revealed to be Hibiki's.
She had let herself be forced into a vulnerable state only to dodge at the last second, working her way around the anomaly before piercing it with her armored hand. Phantom-SL gasped as it glanced backwards, trying to sputter out anything.
Hibiki simply held a cold stare before her eyes widened as she let out an inhuman yell, black quickly wrapping itself around her body. The energy enveloped her and gave her a black silhouette form that held a red outline, resembling the berserk state that her other universe counterpart had used on occasion. She immediately withdrew her hand while pushing her arm to the side, forcing Phantom-SL to stagger and turn.
Once Phantom-SL had come face to face with the berserk Gungir Wielder it had been pounced on by her. She held a feral grin as her red eyes narrowed, opening her mouth wide as she lunged and bit against the anomaly. It didn't take long for black energy to erupt from the bite, engulfing both of them.
"Not good…" Buster muttered.
"This is the worst case scenario…" Chris trailed off as her voice shook.
The black energy soon began to fade and disperse, soon revealing a new amalgamation before everyone. While it was larger than Hibiki in size, it still held her build and shape if a tad more muscular.
The base body was that of a Shimi's, the white and black of its body being inverted as was the usual standard of the Phantom Megid. The forearm and shin armor alongside the boots were black variants of Gungnir with orange accents. The biceps and thighs held black armoring as well, having a orange scale-like texture to them with feather-like edges on the sides. Around the waist was a leather belt that held a buckle that was the Aufwachen Waveform that represented Gunngir, a black two-tailed waist coat dropping down to the ankles.
The chest was refitted from Legeiel's, being primarily black with orange accents, though it lacked the teeth that lined the upper portion of it and the book in the center was replaced by a less detailed variant of Legeiel's face. The shoulders meanwhile resembled Storious', being black with white accents, the shoulder spikes being orange in color. The head in general was black but with a twisted in shape human-like mask at the front in white. It was similar to Storious' but held a more feminine appearance with haunting eyes made of crystalline amber. Orange vine-like hair clumped up in the shape of Hibiki's hairstyle with the headset she'd normally wear in black with white accents.
"What… what even…?" Blades let out a shudder, this transformation being unlike any Phantom Megid he's seen thus far. Even Gaze didn't exert this kind of dangerous presence, "This is unprecedented… she's…"
"She's become a damn monster," Kenzan remarked as he managed to push himself up finally.
"Odin," it said as it raised its hands upwards as if taking in its new appearance, "Call me, Odin."
"Odin?" Buster asked.
"The legendary wielder of Gungnir," Chris answered as she managed to stand up while preparing her rifle bow, "Is it really comparing itself to a god?"
"I simply thought it a fitting name," Odin answered as it glanced at Chris who moved to a defensive stance, "Odin, the seeker of truth, of endings, a being of legendary and bestial power, the one who wielded Gungnir."
Blades stayed silent but he noted how Odin seemed to be taking from multiple components for its new form. It named itself after Odin via Legeiel's pride, held the wordplay of Storious, and then more than likely had access to the destructive power Hibiki wielded.
"Now then," Odin lowered its arms before pausing, "Oh?"
"Huh?" Kenzan asked before noticing something in the sky, "Wait that's…"
High in the sky was a flying carpet, Tsubasa, Touma, and Miku visible on it as they all prepared their transformations. The three soon leapt off as the carpet vanished, Tsubasa singing while Touma and Miku drew out their Seiken.
"~Imyuteus Ame no Habakiri tron~"
"Henshin!"
[REKKA BATTOU! DON'T MISS IT! DRAGONIC KNIGHT~!]
[IKAZUCHI BATTOU! TOGE! TOGE! LAMP DO HEDGEHOG!]
In flashes of blue, red and yellow, the trio landed nearby all of them entering their stances before pausing with light gasps at what they were seeing.
"No way, we were too late?" Tsubasa asked before noticing her injured partner, "Chris!"
"I'll be fine!" Chris called out, "Just stay on guard!"
"Just what happened?" Saber questioned.
"The first Phantom Megid absorbed Legeiel and then Hibiki absorbed it," Blades answered, "And now well…"
"Odin, that is my name," Odin introduced as he looked over at the newcomers, "I'm glad you all could make it on time."
Espada stayed silent as she stared at Odin, gripping Ikazuchi tightly.
"So you're mocking us now, huh?" Saber asked with a low growl.
"Oh no, not at all," Odin replied, "It's just… if I truly want to become whole I need to sever the Gungnir Wielder's outside connections to truly take control. And you all delivered yourselves to me quite handily."
"Well you've made a big mistake," Espada said as she kept her stance, "You've given away that Hibiki is still in there, meaning we can save her."
"Do you mean the girl within me? Or her parallel self who I am connected to?" Odin asked as it crossed its arms, "Because really, you're only here to-"
"We're saving both of them, that's all there is to it," Saber interrupted with his answer.
"You're going to have to do a lot more than mind games to deal with us," Tsubasa said as she looked around, "We've got you surrounded."
"I suppose you do," Odin said as it went to clasp its hands together, soon performing a hand-sign and holding it in place as its eyes began to shine. Soon enough a shallow pool of black began to spiral out from underneath it suddenly spreading and washing over the entire area before fading into the ground, the grass rippling in response, "But I'm not about to keel over that easily."
The ground rippled further as strange Shimi Megid began to erupt from the ground, every part of their body but their mask a pure black, their mask white with red eyes peering through. They all had sleeveless tattered cloaks, wielding either Storious' or Legeiel's sword, some being unarmed as well. Their movements were dull and almost zombie-like in nature as they shambled about while everyone eyed them warily.
"I think I'll call them Karma-Megid," Odin said as it snapped its fingers, its new minions stiffening up in their movements and rushing towards everyone but Saber and Espada, "This should make things easier."
"Are you really that scared of all of us?" Tsubasa questioned as she spun and swung her naginata, managing to force a Karma-Megid back before turning and striking at another. One had tried to lunge in only for it to get shot in the face by Chris.
"I doubt it considering what it was able to do before," Chris said as she immediately spun and shot an approaching Karma-Megid in the stomach to force it back.
"We need to deal with these things quickly," Blades said as he slashed through several of the Karma-Megid before turning and launching blasts at an approaching group.
"They aren't so tough!" Kenzan called out as he leapt forward, slashing through several of his opponents before turning and blocking swings from a duo of Karma-Megid. He then spun and forced them back with a whirlwind, the razor sharp gusts cutting through them.
"Don't get overconfident!" Buster shouted as he stabbed through a few Karma-Megid, dragging them backwards before shifting Gekido and slicing through them.
"Why are you having them ignore us?" Espada asked as she and Saber stared down Odin.
"You could easily overwhelm us," Saber agreed, "So why?"
"Because I want the two of you in particular all to myself," Odin answered as it began to walk towards them, "Dealing with you myself will allow me to more harshly sever what's keeping the girl connected to this world."
"Miku… can I count on you?" Saber asked as his blade began to pulsate.
"You can," Espada said, glancing at Saber and realizing that her friend likely had a plan. She then got in a crouched stance before kicking forward as she tapped her central Ride Book.
[NEEDLE HEDGEHOG!]
Espada sped against Odin at high speeds, performing a quick slash against it and getting behind the amalgam. She then turned as did Odin, the Rider snapping her fingers as the eyes of her hedgehog armor lit up.
Odin let out a light gasp as electrical spikes suddenly erupted from numerous points of its body. It let out a growl as it unleashed a burst of energy, forcing Espada back and breaking apart the needles.
"Come now?" Odin asked as it had only received scratches from the spikes, its wounds healing fairly well, "Is that all you-"
[KAENKEN REKKA!]
Odin felt a chill and turned only to get cut into by Saber's blade, Rekka shining a bright red. The blade was sickeningly hot, it burning the amalgam at its core. Odin could only scream out as it staggered back once Saber performed a follow-up slash.
"What the hell was that?!" it exclaimed in clear pain.
"I knew it," Saber said as he held up Rekka, it keeping its bright red glow, "This new power of mine, its poison to something like you that acts like a parasite to a host."
"Wait, so it's just like the new Megid from our world?" Espada asked with a gasp of realization.
"It is," Saber replied as before letting out a shout as he charged forward, "Unfortunately Yuri isn't here, but that just means I'll fight harder in his place!"
"Why you little…!" Odin brought out Legeiel's sword and swung only for Saber to smack it aside with the Dragonic Booster, a burst of fire occurring.
[SPICY!]
Saber let out a series of shouts, Kaenken Rekka shining bright as he managed to strike against Odin several times. He watched the amalgam stagger back before he let out a yell, bringing down his sword only for Odin to catch it.
"So what if you have something that's poison to me," Odin hissed out as it gripped the sword tightly, its hand burning but still keeping its grip. It dismissed the sword it had and gathered multiple elements in its free hand before launching it against Saber's stomach, "Like I'll let myself die to something like that!"
Saber yelled out as sparks flew, being launched backwards by the elemental burst.
[LAMP DO ALANGINA!]
The Lamp Do Alangina formed behind Saber, managing to catch the Rider who let out a gasping breath.
"Phew," Espada sighed in relief before feeling a chill, quickly turning and raising her blade as she braced against a slash from Odin who now wielded the spear Gungnir itself.
"I can feel it," Odin said as it tried to push forward, "You're still fresh aren't you?"
"And if I am?" Espada asked as she gritted her teeth, managing to keep Odin from pushing further.
"That means you're easier to deal with," Odin answered as it pushed further.
"Maybe… but you aren't exactly old yourself," Espada gasped out as she managed to hold back the swing just barely with one hand, drawing out Tri-Cerberus and scanning it on the tip of Ikazuchi.
[CERBERUS! MM-HMM! SHUUTOKU ISSEN!]
Electricity lashed and extended outwards, three dog heads forming and biting into Odin at several points. The amalgam gasped out slightly as it felt its body lock and seize up as a result of the electricity briefly stunning its nervous system.
"So even if this is only my first real mission…" Espada trailed as she pushed Odin away before stabbing forward and unleashing more electricity outwards, "I'm not that outclassed!"
Odin gasped out, managing to only take a step back before yelling out. It managed to spin its spear around before stabbing it into the ground, a burst of energy erupting outwards and launching Espada backwards.
Espada let out a shriek as she was sent rolling, managing to stop as Saber hurried over to her.
"Don't talk like I'm some fresh hen," Odin let out a hiss as it began to float upwards by utilizing the wind around it to push it upwards. It then raised a hand as chunks of rock began rising out from the earth, the rocks lighting themselves on fire before it threw a hand forward. The fiery rocks began to rain down like meteors, Saber and Espada both yelling out as the fiery chunks of earth exploded around them.
[STORM EAGLE!]
A burst of fiery red wind had torn through the smoke and debris, it being revealed that Saber had gotten in front of Espada and defend both of them with his Dragonic Booster.
[FLAME SPICY!]
"Not bad, I shouldn't have expected for that to have done the deed," Odin admitted as it landed before shifting the spear it held to a reverse grip, getting ready to toss it, "But you're only delaying the inevitable."
Saber let out a gasp as he stood up straight, raising his blade while Espada did the same.
In an instant the amalgam had launched Gungnir towards the two Riders, it releasing a burst of energy to launch towards the two faster.
"~Seilien coffin Airgetlám tron~"
The chant could be heard from above a bright pink light descending right before the spear struck, green light expanding outwards.
{Ride Change}
The spear was suddenly deflected into the air, the disruption causing it to explode as the green light faded to reveal a turtle shell-shaped shield. Behind it was Maria who held her left arm out while in her first Ride Gear form.
{Usagi-Kame Airgetlam!}
"Another one appeared?" Odin questioned before recalling Hibiki's memories and nodding, "That's right, she was around recently. But just where was she?"
"None of your business," Maria answered despite knowing full well the question was rhetorical.
"You made it," Saber let out a breath of relief.
"Thank you, Maria," Espada said.
"I'm glad I could make it in time," Maria admitted as she lowered her arm, the shield fading before she went to raise her blade, "But don't fall on me just yet you two, keep standing and keep fighting. If what I'm looking at is correct, we have someone who needs to be saved, right?"
"That's right," Saber nodded as he managed to fully stand straight, walking over to stand beside Maria.
"We won't give up," Espada agreed as she made her way to stand beside the two, "Not yet."
"Exactly, all that we should think about right now…" Maria said as she stared down Odin, "Is defeating this pathetic creature."
"Pathetic you say," Odin remarked before scoffing, "The only thing I see right now is a bunch of ants trying to take on bigger roles than they need in my story."
World of Sympho-Saber:
Everyone in the medical wing could only stare in worry at the scene taking place around them. Tsubasa and Chris were on both sides of Hibiki's bed, the two having their hands in a death grip as they held onto Hibiki's hands, using their free hands to hold her down by her shoulders. Kanade, Kirika and Shirabe could only stare in worry, everyone wincing as Hibiki let out sudden pained gasps and short yells, her eyes closed as despite the pain it was like she was in a nightmare she couldn't wake up from.
Yuri was doing his best, but he let out a groan and stepped back as he lowered his arms. He had tried combating the corruption of the Phantom Megid but it was getting to be too much at this point. While he still had enough strength to fight, he'd likely go dormant for a couple of days if he tried to heal Hibiki any further at this point.
"Just how much longer is this going to keep up?!" Chris asked as the machines monitoring Hibiki began to grow louder and louder as it was clear her vitals were getting worse.
"I am unsure, but we must stick by her side!" Tsubasa called out, "This is the best we can do short of heading to deal with a problem we have yet to truly figure out."
"Come on, everyone," Shirabe muttered as she clasped her hands together, "You can do this."
"W-We should be fine, right?" Kirika asked a bit nervously, "I mean Touma, Maria, Rintaro, and Miku can handle this right, dess?"
"If it's them, they can do it," Kanade said as she put her hands on Shirabe and Kirika's heads to help calm them down. She frowned however, "Even then… it doesn't make seeing this any easier…"
"You all won't have to worry any further," Daishinji said as he entered, already prepared to head out as in his hand he had a large Ride Book in his hand that held a white base with a yellow frame alongside purple accents on said frame. Though it was impossible to make out the cover or the name of the Ride Book he had in his hand, "I'm not sure what the situation is on their side, but we've completed our secret weapon."
"That sounds splendid," Yuri said with a smile as he managed to stand up straight.
"So what's the plan?" Chris asked.
"Considering past encounters, Yuri needs to accompany me in getting this to them," Daishinji answered much to everyone's surprise, "As much as I know Hibiki needs him, this will ensure she's saved in a timely manner."
"I agree," Yuri nodded, "I can only help her so much at this point. Focusing the remainder of my energy into helping Touma and Miku is the smarter play."
"It's a solid assessment," Tsubasa replied, "Do you need anyone else?"
"No, we're already down to four Wielders here," Daishinji replied, "And we need as much firepower on the Rider side so it's why I didn't ask Kanade since she's currently the strongest out of the three Riders that will be left."
"Fair enough," Kanade replied, "We'll look after Hibiki while you two make sure this gets finished."
"We will," Daishinji nodded.
"Let us make haste then," Yuri replied, "I'm unsure how much longer she can last, especially without my constant healing."
"Right, let's-" Daishinji was cut off when an audible yet muffled roar echoed out through the room. It didn't take long for Ultimate Bahamut to launch out of Hibiki's pocket, flying forward as Daishinji went to catch it in his free hand, "Well it appears as though we've got a volunteer."
"Ooh that'll be a big help," Kirika said as Shirabe nodded.
"Definitely," Daishinji nodded as he went to pocket Ultimate Bahamut before turning towards the door, "Now then, let's head out."
Yuri nodded before following after Daishinji. The Rider and Wielders that were left could only watch, all of them silently praying that their friends would be able to save Hibiki.
To Be Continued…
Author's Note: What can I even say at this point? Well other than we're finally at the climax of this parallel world. This was a particularly heavy chapter to write, both in how dense this chapter is in action compared to the prior two, but also when it came to Edgebiki fully succumbing to the Phantom Megid's influence. It was originally going to be a bit more of a simple conversation between the two but I figured I'd draw it out just a tad. Pain aside, we're not entirely in the deep end what with the backup Touma and Miku are about to get. Thanks for reading and I'll see you all next time.