Sympho-Saber: Song of Swords

by ZeroEnchiladas

Noise are mindless creatures that kill with a single touch. The Megid are monsters who wish to take advantage of that so they can rewrite the world's story. But there are those who stand against them, be they singers or swordsmen. They are the Symphogear Wielders and Kamen Riders, and how this story ends is for them to decide! (Currently on Original Season, RXU)

58. RXU: EP10

Sympho-Saber: Song of Swords

RXU:EP10 – The Nightmare's Evolution

---

World of Lunar Reckoning:

Kyoichiro had an idea upon being informed of the current situation involving Maria, Shirabe, Kirika, and Genjuro. It was an idea specifically for the three former FIS members from another world. Everyone was confused to say the least, especially when they were waiting for him in Serena's room.

Serena's room itself was a bit more decorated than the guest rooms, while it still held the same sterile white, there were small things like hung pictures, little knickknacks, and other personal effects that brightened up the room.

It didn't take long for Kyoichiro enter again but with a digital camera and a stand for it.

"Wait, that's what this was about?" Amane questioned, "You gathered us to take a picture?"

"Less us and more them," Kyoichiro said as he gestured towards Serena and the others.

"Wait, what?" Serena asked.

"Yes, I'm curious too," Maria admitted as she tilted her head slightly.

"Well I figured considering your backgrounds…" Kyoichiro said as he gave a light grunt while setting up the stand and attaching the camera to it, "That you all would like a picture together."

"Oh," Serena said in realization before smiling, "That sounds like a lovely idea."

"I suppose so," Maria said with a nod, "There's nothing that says we can't bring mementos of sorts back, right girls?"

"Yeah," Kirika agreed, "Let's do it dess!"

"It does sound nice," Shirabe nodded.

"Perfect," Kyoichiro smiled, "Now I think a group photo would do nicely, but did you all have anything else in mind?"

"Maybe a couple of smaller group pictures," Maria suggested, "One of me and Serena, plus one of Serena with Kirika and Shirabe."

"That sounds good," Shirabe said as Kirika nodded.

"Sounds good to me," Kyoichiro said with a thumbs-up, "You can count on me to get you some memorable shots."

"I swear," Amane sighed before giving a small smirk as she leaned against the wall, "You always think of the most trivial things."

"Like I always tell you, it's not trivial it's sentimental," Kyoichiro glanced over with a smirk.

---

Nastassja was currently deep in thought as she made her way deeper into the FIS facility. There was only one possible explanation for the strange entity that she had seen. But she knew her Relics and had extensive knowledge of everything cataloged. There was no way something utilizing that eye-like creature should be out and about.

If someone did take it and started to utilize it, then that would be trouble on all accounts. That would mean there was a security breach without anyone's knowledge. But if it wasn't taken… then that opened up a new set of problems that Nastassja did not like mulling over.

"Even if everything is untouched…" she muttered as she finally reached the main doors to the area she wished to enter, the FIS' Relic vault, "Just what does that mean for the bigger picture?"

She was ready to initiate the unlock sequence when her earpiece suddenly crackled to life, the voices of the researchers quickly breaking through.

"Professor Nastassja, we've got an alert on a Relic!" a researcher called out, "It's currently at… the closest city from this research station?"

"What?" Nastassja questioned, "Are you certain?"

"Yes, we are, the tracking data is accurate," a second researcher replied.

"We're going through our records and it matches the same signal as earlier," another research spoke up before gasping out, "The weird Megid/Nephilim Hybrid, its back!"

"What is it doing in the city now?" Nastassja questioned more towards herself than anyone else. She shook her head and turned away from the vault doors. Picking up her pace, she tried to get back to the central command room as quickly as possible, "Sound the alarm. I need our fighters gathered at once."

"Understood," a researcher nodded.

---

"How's Gekido looking?" Genjuro asked as he stood a respectable distance away from where Daishinij was working.

"For you forgetting to take it in for maintenance, it's doing well," Daishinji admitted, "I take it you don't fight often?"

"I fight as much as I need to," Genjuro answered, "I am the Commander of my group however so that results in certain restrictions even if I have a capable co-Commander."

"I see, while it seems as though you're a bit rough with the Seiken… you handle it well enough," Daishinji answered as he continued to look Gekido over while working on maintaining it, "It's honestly a bit remarkable."

"Remarkable?" Genjuro asked only to get silence, letting out a low whistle as he realized that it had gotten too quiet. He looked over to Sophia who was still facing away from him, "So why exactly did you choose to pick up Kurayami?"

"The situation called for it after I reclaimed it," Sophia answered, "That's all there is to it."

"You know, you're not going to get anywhere like this," Genjuro spoke up, "And I mean both of you."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Daishinji said in a neutral tone.

"Indeed," Sophia nodded, "We're doing fine at the moment so-"

"You're not, especially considering you can't hold a normal conversation with me," Genjuro interrupted firmly to keep the two from arguing back, "Now then, considering everything I'd like to hopefully find the answer to-"

ALERT~! ALERT~! ALERT~!

"Huh?" Genjuro looked up as the central light of the workshop began to flash red.

"You and Sophia are needed at central command," Daishinji said as he turned and walked over, holding out Gekido towards Genjuro but refusing to look at him, "Luckily it wasn't that bad, you should be fine to continue fighting."

"Thank you," Genjuro said as he took Gekido from Daishinji and holstered it before looking at Sophia, "Shall we?"

"Yes," Sophia nodded as she turned away from Genjuro while turning to walk out of the workshop, the Commander of SONG simply letting out a soft sigh before following after her.

---

It didn't take long for all of the Riders and Wielders to make their way into the central command center, Nastassja waiting for them as various researchers and operators were keeping an eye on the situation. No one was able to question what the alarm was about however as visual data had been ongoing on the screen as they entered.

On screen was Phantom-N, it rampaging through the nearby city's streets as it seemed to have only aimless destruction in sight.

"It's attacking a city this time?" Serena asked.

"Of all the terrible timing that thing had," Kyoichiro groaned out, "We only got the group photo done!"

"Huh?" Genjuro turned with a raised eyebrow.

"It's nothing too pressing," Maria said, wanting to focus on the fight at hand.

"We'll get it done once we take care of this Phantom Megid," Amane suggested as she patted the Rider of Thunder's back, "Alright?"

"Yeah, you're right," Kyoichiro nodded.

"What's the plan here Professor Nastassja?" Sophia asked, "Considering what we're dealing with we can't let it keep rampaging."

"Yes, this is concerning," Nastassja admitted, "Yet this feels strangely set up, and I don't feel comfortable with sending all of you over."

"Is it safe to not send us all over?" Kirika asked.

"From the reports I've read, these kind of Megid are not meant to be taken lightly," Shirabe added.

"I know but I can't shake off this terrible feeling," Nastassja replied, "Amane, Kyoichiro, you two are to stay here with me on standby, understood?"

"I don't exactly like it," Amane sighed, "But you're the boss."

"Of course," Kyoichiro said with a nod.

"So then I take it the rest of us are to leave immediately?" Genjuro asked.

"Yes, I've already prepped your transport to the city," Nastassja replied, "Serena and Sophia will lead you there."

"Understood Mom," Maria said as she, Kirika, and Shirabe nodded.

---

World of Sympho-Saber:

"Why did you abandon us?" Sabela questioned as she worked on keeping control of her fight with Falchion, going for a full offensive to keep her opponent defending, "We're fighting for a greater purpose, even more so than SONG!"

"Oh just save the speech," Falchion said, deciding to play along with being forced on the defensive. She had her trump card ready to use at any time, but she wanted to take a page out of some of her friends' books and strike up conversation, "Especially considering you if all really wanted to protect this world, your master would have allied with SONG."

"Master Logos wants to help the world in his own way," Sabela answered as she forced Falchion into a lock, "Allying with SONG means limiting his freedom to act however he can."

"Yeah, like reviving a dead idol to be his mindless puppet," Falchion remarked in near disgust, "And then there's you."

"What?" Sabela faltered as she quickly stepped away as Falchion pushed back, "What are you insinuating?"

"You can't remember your past right?" Falchion asked as she charged forward while slashing forward, "How much of that is amnesia and how much of that is Master Logos making sure you can't?!"

Sabela gasped out as she went to parry, but the swing was too strong for her to properly do so. The result was her blade being deflected and forced up as she winced, Falchion rushing to stab at her while she was prone. Sparks flew as she was sent staggering back while holding her chest, her breathing heavy as she tried to keep control of her emotions.

"Seems like you aren't too sure either," Falchion replied, "Considering that distracted you pretty good."

[NOROSHI MUCHUU!]

"Be quiet!" Sabela shouted as she burst apart into spiraling smoke, Falchion trying to keep an eye on it only for the smoke to spiral too close to the phoenix Rider's body to properly track.

"Huh?" Falchion gasped as she suddenly hunched forward.

Sabela had reformed in a sitting position on the phoenix Rider's back, her legs crossed over Falchion's right arm. She had also used her free left hand to grab and pull back Falchion's left arm, holding the Rider in a lock.

"Master Logos saved me from nearly dying, I owe my life to him," Sabela called out before simply grunting as she felt Falchion spin to throw her off. She went along with the movement, going into her own spin as she forced the phoenix Rider onto the ground, pinning Falchion's arm and chest by standing on them, "You should be grateful he gave you a second chance at life."

"Like hell I'm thanking him," Falchion said with a grunt as she struggled to force Sabela off.

"Calamity Strike…"

Desast's callout managed to grab Sabela's attention as he launched down from the building he was watching from. He slashed forward while unleashing a burst of dark energy from his blade, Sabela shifting out of the way. The chimera Megid landed before turning and swiping again, unleashing another burst of energy towards the Swordswoman of Smoke.

Sabela let out a gasp as she quickly leapt backwards, getting off of Falchion and landing after avoiding the swipe.

"Wait, what?" Falchion sat up, "Desast?"

"God, this scent… this scent is bugging me too much," Desast said as he fully stood up, "Hidden within all that smoke… the scent of blood, blood that I know I've smelled before."

"What?" Falchion tilted her head.

"What are you talking about?" Sabela asked as she aimed her Seiken towards the Megid.

"It's on the tip of my tongue… and it's too annoying to not obsess over," Desast said as he hunched forward and approached Sabela, "So let's dance for a bit."

[NOROSHI MUCHUU!]

Sabela suddenly burst into streams of smoke just as the Megid closed in, spiraling around all over.

Falchion quickly got up and went on the defensive, keeping a guarded stance while Desast glanced around every now and again.

Well that was until Desast suddenly turned while gathering energy in his blade, slashing out as the spiraling smoke came back together. Sabela had reformed to try and hit Desast from his blind spot only to gasp as she was struck instead, sparks flying as she was sent tumbling away.

"What?" Sabela questioned before grunting as she stood up, running forward before bursting into streams of smoke again.

[NOROSHI MUCHUU!]

The smoke continued to spiral around, albeit more wildly this time around. Sabela then reformed right above Falchion, ready to drop down and pounce on the phoenix Rider.

Desast however was following the smoke around again, though fairly casually despite his high accuracy. Just as the smoke was ready to reform he gathered energy in his blade, unleashing a burst outwards and striking Sabela in her back.

Sabela shrieked as she was sent flying, tumbling away from Falchion and landing on the ground.

"Whoa," Falchion called out, "Just how-"

"How can you read my movements?" Sabela gasped out as she went to slowly pick herself up.

"You've got a very noticeable scent," Desast remarked as he pointed at the Wielder of Eneiken Noroshi, "So it's easy to pick out where exactly you are before you fully reform."

"Well that's one way to get an advantage," Falchion remarked before walking forward and stepping in front of Desast, "No offense, but you're kind of interrupting my fight."

"Look at you acting all brave," Desast chuckled, "Fine, so long as you don't put on a pitiful display like earlier."

"What can I say, I like to start slow sometimes," Falchion said as she drew out Gekisō Gungnir before loading it in place, "Let me show you two something fun."

"Huh?" Sabela looked in surprise as Falchion initiated the form change, "That book…"

[BATTOU! ETERNAL RELIC!]

Bursts of fire and orange light occurred as Falchion entered Gekisō Gungnir form, the fire and light spiraling together to form her spear as she held it in both hands and aimed it forward.

"Whew, you got an upgrade since the last I saw you," Desast whistled as he rested his sword on his shoulder before backing away, "She's all yours."

"Thanks," Falchion said as she stared down the stunned Sabela, "Trust me, you haven't seen anything yet."

The two Riders stared each other down, Sabela letting out a shout as she rushed forward to stab at Falchion who had yet to move. Falchion immediately shifted her spear to its flat end, blocking the stab before spinning her spear and deflecting Sabela's weapon downwards.

Sabela let out a gasp as she quickly backed away from a swing, fire erupting from Gungnir as she could feel the heat emanating from it. She watched as Falchion charged forward without hesitation and didn't back down, dodging without worry against a few slashes before clashing her Noroshi with Gungnir.

The clash didn't last long as Falchion easily slashed forward to break it before thrusting and striking Sabela in the chest.

"Well now," Desast said as he watched the sparks fly, Sabela being sent rolling across the ground, "Looks like you weren't bluffing."

---

"Yes, yes, scatter like the insects you are!" the Bee Megid called out as it spun around, watching as any and all bystanders fled from its presence as it had entered a plaza. It then looked around as glowing specks began moving towards it. Upon closer inspection the specks were projections of bees, gathering on top of the Megid as it absorbed them, "Yes, what delicious…" it paused when it could have sworn it heard more buzzing, "Just what is that buzzing?"

The buzzing it heard were the roars of engines as two bikes launched over it, landing on the other side of and skidding to a stop. It was Saber on the Diago Speedy while Tsubasa and Hibiki were on the sword wielder's personal bike, both in their Symphogear already.

"Sorry to say, but you won't be causing anymore trouble," Saber said as he dismounted his bike.

"Indeed," Tsubasa said as she and Hibiki did the same, soon drawing out her sword.

"Yeah, we'll save that person you're making suffer!" Hibiki called out.

"Hey, hey, I'm just trying to bring back that springtime youth," the Bee Megid called out, "You know?"

"You couldn't wait until next year?" Saber questioned.

"Waiting means getting older, and that just means further slipping away from that youth!" the Bee Megid explained before stomping his foot, "Don't think I'll go down that easily!"

"Do not underestimate our strength," Tsubasa said as she brandished her blade, "Kamiyama, Tachibana."

"Right," Saber said as he drew out Rekka.

"Let's go!" Hibiki called out as she ran forward, Saber and Tsubasa doing the same.

"Let me show you what you all are missing out on," the Bee Megid called out as it threw its hands forward, specks of gold light being unleashed in a flurry, "Youthful Springtime Pollen go!"

The pollen launched forward, the area becoming bright as specks of light lined the air. Hibiki, Tsubasa, and Saber let out gasps as their charges transitioned into prancing forward in slow-motion somehow.

Saber let out a gasp as he somehow decided to do a twirl in slow-motion, "Diiiid he just puuut us in sloooow-moooootion?!"

"Is it weird that it feeeeels so good though?" Hibiki asked before pumping her fist with a cheer, "I feel pumped up and ready to take on every daaay!"

"Indeeeed, despite not being old I feel younger somehow," Tsubasa admitted in surprise at this feeling.

BOOM!

The specks of light had shined brightly in an instant before exploding, the trio yelled out as they were sent to the ground, tumbling and rolling to a stop.

"What was that attack?!" Saber questioned.

"I see," Tsubasa muttered as she got on her knee and stabbed her blade into the ground to keep balanced, "He seems to be able to utilize pollen in order to lower our guard before said pollen explodes."

"That's really dangerous," Hibiki coughed out as she managed to get in a sitting position on her knees.

"Truly youth is quite explosive," the Bee Megid nodded as it crossed its arms.

"Do not think we're done just yet," Tsubasa called out as she fully stood before charging towards the Bee Megid.

"Very well, I shall meet you head on!" the Bee Megid brandished the stingers on its forearms before rushing forward, blocking Tsubasa's first slash with its left stinger before jabbing at her. It was surprised that Tsubasa had backed up, thought it quickly raised its arms in defense to block a wide slash from the blue sword wielder.

"Touma are you alright?" Hibiki asked as she quickly got up and hurried over, helping Saber stand.

"Yeah, I'm good," Saber said before rushing forward, "Come on! We can't let that Megid escape!"

"Right," Hibiki nodded as she hurried after.

Red flashes suddenly occurred as Shimi Megid quickly surrounded the Rider and Wielder, blocking them off. Before the two could even start fighting the horde they were forced to split up as Amanojaku landed between the two from above.

"Sorry to say but you aren't winning this time," Amanojaku said before closing in and punching at Saber who was forced to block, "I'll make sure you can't reach my new ally!"

"Ah," Hibiki let out a gasp before ducking underneath a Shimi Megid, punching it in the gut before backing up and blocking two sword swings from two others. She forced them away as she worked to keep from getting overwhelmed by the grunts, "Touma!"

"Like you interrupting will stop me from trying," Saber grunted as he forced Amanojaku away, he'd just have to hope that the others would arrive soon.

---

World of Lunar Reckoning:

Phantom-N was currently rampaging through several city streets, flipping cars over as it ran as fast as it could. It didn't seem to have a clear goal though as it simply allowed anyone to run away from it. Of course the Noise Sirens were in full effect as while Phantom-N wasn't a Noise, it was still a dangerous enough threat to force people indoors or into the nearest shelter.

It let out a few distorted growls before it suddenly heard whirring overhead. A helicopter had quickly made its way towards its location from above, the doors sliding open as numerous individuals dropped down from it.

Singing and shouting was heard in tandem as numerous flashes of light occurred.

{SG-x00: Airgetlám}

{SG-i01: Shul Shagana}

{SG-i02: Igalima}

[DOGOUKEN GEKIDO!]

[JAAKU DRAGON!]

It didn't take long for Maria, Shirabe, Kirika, Serena, Buster, and Calibur to drop down and land in Phantom-N's path. The six all held their weapons at the ready, taking their own personal stances as they stared the beast down.

Phantom-N let out another distorted roar as it stepped forward, clearly undeterred by the team before it.

"So what's the plan?" Kirika asked.

"We need to overwhelm its regenerative abilities," Buster said as he kept Gekido facing forward.

"But be wary of its mouth," Calibur said as she stepped forward to take the lead, "We can't get too careless while we're close to it."

Phantom-N smashed its arms into the ground, cracking it before digging its fingers and ripping out a chunk of pavement and the earth beneath it. It then tore it apart with its arms while unleashing a concussive force, shattering the rock and launching the smaller rocks towards its opponents as projectiles.

The Riders and Wielders quickly went to dodge while rushing forward, Buster and Calibur managing to force their way through the debris more easily than the others.

Calibur gathered dark energy in her blade and yelled out while slashing, only for Phantom-N to grab her sword. She was then grabbed by the stomach, letting out a gasp as Phantom-N used its large limbs to slam her against the ground. It was suddenly pulled off her however by Buster who had grabbed onto Phantom-N before tossing it towards the side.

Phantom-N tumbled against the ground before managing to right itself into a standing position. It watched as Kirika approached and reeled back its arms to unleash a shockwave via a clap. Unfortunately its elbows were suddenly ensnared, Shirabe having slid from behind while pulling on her yo-yos to keep it in place.

"DESS!" Kirika shouted as she twirled her scythe, striking against Phantom-N's stomach and chest several times before leaping away.

Phantom-N grunted, managing to loosen and force the yo-yos off of its arms before stumbling forward. It quickly went to brace with its arms against several slashes courtesy of Serena and Maria. Serena quickly went for a stab while Maria leapt up and extended her blade into its chain-whip formation while lashing out, the duo managing to open Phantom-N's guard up.

"Let's go, Maria!" Serena said as she extended her sword's blade as light gathered within it.

"Right, Serena!" Maria gathered pink light within her main gauntlet as she leapt up into the air.

Serena then stabbed down, a streak of light launching forward at high speeds while Maria punched down with her left arm. A beam of pink energy launched downwards towards Phantom-N, the streak of light cutting through the Phantom Megid with the beam piercing through it not even seconds later.

{SILKY†RAY}

{JUDGEMENT†STRIKE}

Phantom-N let out a grunt as a glowing gash and hole could be seen, staggering back as a result of the light based attacks.

"Keep it up!" Buster called out as he rushed forward alongside Calibur. Once he was close enough he raised his sword high with both hands before slamming it downwards against the Phantom Megid. He gave a chuckle however when he saw the Phantom Megid catch the blade in its hands to keep it from going down further, "Got you!"

[HISSATSU READ! JAAKU DRAGON!]

Purple energy and electricity erupted from Kurayami as Calibur slid towards Phantom-N's side, raising her sword high before swinging downwards. Soon enough a Jaaku dragon construct of purple flames launched outwards, slamming and biting down directly into Phantom-N's side.

"Perfect," Buster felt the Phantom Megid's grip slack as it yelled and pushed further, managing to briefly slam his blade into the anomaly's shoulder before backing away while dragging it out.

It didn't take long for the purple dragon construct to explode in a fiery blaze, the purple fires burning and raging against Phantom-N's body.

[KURAYAMI HISSATSU GEKI! SHUUTOKU ISSEN!]

Phantom-N unleashed another strange growl as it released a shockwave from its body to remove the fires. The anomaly hunched forward, its body shifting as it went to regenerate from the damage it had taken.

"It's still recovering," Serena said.

"That may be, but it's slower than when we first confronted it," Maria said as she took notice of the slower regeneration, "It hasn't had enough time to fully heal."

"Then we'll take advantage of that and destroy it for good," Calibur said as she stepped forward.

"Then I think it's time for us to go all out," Kirika said as she brought out the Sakurani Wars Ride book and looked over at Shirabe, "Right, dess?"

"Right," Shirabe said as she drew out Tsuki no Hime Kaguyan.

---

"The battle seems to be going well," Amane said.

"Yeah, they're definitely giving it all they've got," Kyoichiro agreed.

The two were currently with Nastassja at her main station at central command, the three watching the fight against Phantom-N. While the two Riders would speak up occasionally, the leader of the FIS research facility was silent and was actually going older footage at her station.

"Do you think they can win?" Kyoichiro asked.

"Of course," Amane replied, "So long as no one interferes like last time."

Nastassja let out a light hum at that, as she had finally gone back to finding what footage of the outside they were able to gather. Thankfully the FIS had cameras at different angles and they were able to capture the inciting Phantom-N incident. The older woman was currently reaching the point where the Riders and everyone were distracted by shots from the forest.

She had just gotten to the impact and reversed the footage as slowly as she could, finding a glint right before the lasers struck. She quickly began to zoom and enhance as she reversed the footage slightly, getting a frame where the glint had yet to occur. Yet again it was the same eye-like creature that the FIS had caught on camera earlier, except there were multiple of them.

A faint rumble suddenly occurred, snapping Nastassja out of her intense research as the lights dimmed, the red warning lights suddenly turning on and flashing.

ALERT~! ALERT~! ALERT~!

"Ah, we've been breached suddenly!" a researcher called out.

"Isolate where the breach occurred!" Nastassja called out, "Pull up any and all security footage!"

"Right," a researcher said as he and several others managed to find the breach location, pulling up camera footage only to get static.

"Crap, the cameras are down in that sector already?" an operator questioned.

"I know where it's going," Nastassja narrowed her eyes as she quickly turned towards the exit, "Kyoichiro, Amane, with me."

"Yes ma'am," Amane said as she and Kyoichiro quickly turned to follow.

The two Riders were caught off guard by how fast Nastassja was rushing down the halls of the research facility, the two nearly tripping as they tried to keep up with her.

"Professor, wait a moment!" Kyoichiro called out as he managed to finally keep pace with Nastassja, "You shouldn't be charging ahead of us, if there's an intruder then…"

"I'm sorry but I need to see this with my own eyes," Nastassja answered, "There's been a puzzle I've been trying to figure before that Phantom Megid's most recent rampage."

"Let me guess, that Phantom Megid isn't alone, right?" Amane asked as she managed to catch up and keep pace, "Whoever let it escape sent it further out so that security would be more relaxed."

"Your intuition serves you well," Nastassja said as she kept her pace, "But more than that, there's something that isn't adding up about this. And in either case, it's not good news."

The alarms continued to blare, but beneath the blaring they'd be able to hear the scraping of metal and sparks flying. Soon enough the group reached the entrance to the Relic Vault the FIS owned. Or at least it would have been had the center of the vault doors been cut through.

The culprit was Gaze who held a pink blade with diamond patterning, it being contained by a gold hilt. He let out a chuckle as he admired his blade before reeling back his blade and performing a horizontal slash, unleashing a burst of energy that knocked against the doors, the makeshift split forcing them open with a loud creak.

The inside of the vault was a tube-like room, various metal boxes with different labels being embedded into the walls.

"Halt!" Nastassja called out, "Who are you?"

"Who am I? I suppose I am like the ones the otherworldly Riders and Wielders face down, a Phantom Megid," Gaze answered much to the surprise of the three his back was facing. He then let out a chuckle he turned, revealing his unique facial sculpt to the three whose eyes widened further, "But please, I have a name, call me Gaze."

"Gaze…?" Amane asked, unnerved by the singular eyed being.

"As in the action…?" Kyoichiro asked.

"You definitely seem more put together than the Phantom Megid currently tearing its way through the city," Nastassja noted.

"Ah yes, I suppose I am a special case," Gaze admitted as he let his arm drop while he relaxed his stance, "Which is why I'm here. I can't really allow my comrade to continue as a mindless beast. So I need a Relic."

"Like we'll let you take anything from here!" Amane called out as she drew out her Seiken.

"That's right, this is as far as you go," Kyoichiro said as he stepped forward while preparing his Swordriver.

"Henshin!"

[SOU TOU BUNDAN! FUUSOUKEN HAYATE!]

[IKAZUCHI BATTOU! LAMP DO ALANGINA!]

The two Riders let out quick shouts as they charged forward, Kenzan leaping up to bring down both of her blades while Espada went to thrust towards Gaze.

"Not bad, however…" Gaze trailed as his eyeball drones quickly formed out from his body, immediately launching out lasers that struck both Riders in their palms and wrists. He watched as both Riders winced, dropping their weapons, "I'm more of a tactical Phantom Megid."

Nastassja's eyes widened as it all happened in an instant after the two were disarmed. Gaze had immediately slashed against Espada's chest before stabbing Kenzan in the gut, the strikes hard enough to send both Riders reeling against the ground.

"What the hell is that sword made out of…?" Espada gasped as he held his chest, trying to stand so he could grab his Seiken.

"Oh, it's crafted from Nehushtan's tendrils," Gaze said casually as he unleashed more eyeball drones, the drones flying all around the now open vault as they were searching intently.

"That Relic was lost during the Lunar Reckoning," Nastassja spoke up, "How-"

"You're well aware of the concept of parallel worlds," Gaze answered with an amused chuckle, "So why would you ask such a silly question?"

"Wait, you mean…" Kenzan trailed with a gasp.

"Yes, this was crafted from a different Nehushtan, in fact I got it from a Phantom Megid I helped cultivate in a sense," Gaze said as he looked his weapon over before perking up as all but one of his eyeball drones vanished. He had completely stopped conversing, walking into the vault with a skip as he found the last drone staring at a singular metal case. He went to slash at the case, tearing it open before reaching and grasping what was inside.

"I knew it," Nastassja said as she watched Gaze move back to the entrance with a decorative looking eyeball in his hand, "The Eye of Argus was still under our possession… which means you are a Phantom Megid that evolved via another world's Eye of Argus."

"Correct," Gaze said as he watched Kenzan and Espada finally get up, "While I don't plan on making sure my friend is the same level as me, he needs a bit more intelligence and Relics if he's truly to grow past his instincts thanks to the Nephilim he absorbed."

"Like we'll let you do that," Espada said as he held his sword forward.

"Yeah," Kenzan nodded as she crossed her blades, forming her Shuriken, "This is as far as you go."

"Such tenacity," Gaze said in near fascination before looking down at the Eye of Argus in his hand. He chuckled before quickly holding it forward, "I don't want to have to do most of the work, so!"

The Eye of Argus suddenly shined brightly alongside Gaze's singular eye, the Relic in the Phantom Megid's hand unleashing beams of light that struck both Espada and Kenzan.

Both Riders yelled out in near pain before slumping forward, light flashing on their bodies as near armoring was formed over them. They suddenly jolted and stood as straight as they could, albeit motionless.

Kenzan now had black armoring over both of her arms, the armoring containing fancy gold detailing as extra plating, various eyeballs with purple irises and blue pupils between the various detailing. Her chest also had fancy gold plaiting as well, a large vertical eyeball with the same iris and pupil coloration being present. Finally her visor, helmet, and shins had purple and blue streaks along them.

Espada now had black armoring over his right arm, chest, and shins with fancy gold detailing as extra plating. Between the gold detailing were various eyeballs with purple irises and blue pupils. The centerpiece was the chest which was a large vertical eyeball with the same iris and pupil coloration as the other eyes. His visor, helmet, and thighs also had purple and blue streaks along them.

"This is…" Nastassja trailed as both Espada and Kenzan turned towards her, spreading out so that Gaze could walk between them, "You… what have you done?"

"Evening the odds a bit," Gaze replied as he went to place the Argus Eye on his coat pocket, it now acting as a decoration to his suit, "Of course we'll need just a few more Relics for that…"

---

{Ride Change: Igalima Kani Wa!}

{Ride Change: Shul Shagana Kaguyan!}

In flashes of light both Kirika and Shirabe had entered their Ride Gear armor, Shirabe leaping up into air while shifting the energy strings of her yo-yos. She was now rapidly spinning the yo-yos at her sides, forming yellow energy that soon launched out into two crescent shaped blasts.

Phantom-N braced against the attacks, however due to the sharpness of the energy they had managed to dig into Phantom-N's arms before bursting outwards, tearing the arms up further. As it went to recover it watched as Kirika leapt towards it at great speeds. Despite its recovering arms it punched at her only for her to swing outwards with her metal crab claw.

Kirika let out a chuckle as she managed to deflect Phantom-N's arms before it raised its arms up and clasped its hands together. She slid to the side and twirled as the hands impacted against the ground, before performing a hand-stand briefly with her free hand, hopping onto Phantom-N's hands as it began to lift them up.

Phantom-N had tried to grasp at Kirika only for the crab/monkey-themed scythe Wielder to leap higher up into the air.

"Let's see how you like this, dess!" Kirika opened up her metal claw, energy gathering within it before the energy formed into a ball of energy. Twisting her body and spinning a few times she soon threw her clawed hand outwards, launching the ball of green energy against Phantom-N at an angle.

Phantom-N grunted as the spinning ball of energy didn't detonate immediately, instead grinding against its chest. That was until several small yellow energy crescents struck against the ball as well as several parts of the Phantom Megid's body. It didn't take even a second for the energy ball to detonate, the crescents detonating soon after and catching the Megid in an explosion.

Buster let out a yell as he kicked off the ground, holstering Gekido while reaching out with his hands. He saw as Phantom-N stumbled out of the smoke, the anomaly continuing to recover but at a slower pace now. Of course despite this the Phantom Megid wasn't about to let Buster get close, the anomaly grabbing and keeping a tight grip of Buster's fists as he pushed forward.

Phantom-N saw this as its chance, its body slowly shifting as the teeth and slits that made up its mouth began to open up.

CLAMP!

That was until Kirika had enlarged and launched her metal claw against Phantom-N's body, keeping it from converting its body into a mouth. It didn't take long for Maria to join in, quickly lashing out with her bladed whip, wrapping it around the anomaly's body and keeping a tight lid on it.

Buster then opened his fists, grasping against Phantom-N's enlarged palms as he let out a chuckle while pulling it forward slightly.

"We've got it right where we want it," Shirabe said as she stayed back, but began summoning various full moon projections above where Phantom-N was currently stuck, "Let's finish this, Serena, Sophia."

"It's all yours!" Maria called out as she grunted, trying to keep her bladed whip's grip tight.

"On it," Calibur said as she slotted Kurayami into her Hissatsu Holder, gathering dark energy as she entered a forward crouching stance.

[KURAYAMI IAI!]

"Of course," Serena said as she shortened her sword's blade even further, energy butterflies gathering around it, "We'll finish it with these attacks!"

---

Daishinji wasn't one to worry, but the sudden alert and rumbling he had heard alongside the sounds of fighting was something he couldn't ignore. This especially came to his no fighting attitude that had come in the wake of the Lunar Reckoning. Whatever had occurred, the FIS Research Facility was in danger, and things could grow out of hand if various parts of it were compromised.

While he chose not to put on his swordsman's coat he did bring out his holster and placed Suzune on it before tucking Hanselnuts to Gretel in one of his overalls' inner pockets near his chest.

"Alright," Daishinji shook his head, not liking this sickening feeling he was getting from the situation to begin with. He went to walk towards the door only for it to suddenly open, a bright light occurring as the shadowed figures of Espada and Kenzan could be seen from the doorway.

The sickening feeling grew worse as his ears twitched, hearing the distorted screams of the Fuusouken Hayate and Raimeiken Ikazuchi. He didn't even have a chance to question or even defend as Kenzan unleashed a burst of purple wind, forcing Daishinji off of his feet with a yell.

Espada was next, unleashing purple lightning that struck Daishinji in the chest, the swordsmith yelling out as he was slammed against the closest wall with a loud smack. He let out a groan as he fell to the ground barely conscious.

"Sorry about the rough treatment," Gaze apologized as he entered the room after Espada and Kenzan had stepped out of the way before following after him, "But I need some of your books."

"W-What…?" Daishinji gasped as his vision blurred, barely able to make out Gaze alongside the corrupted Espada and Kenzan.

"Alright, where…" Gaze trailed as he began to look around before noticing the storage compartment of the machine that was utilized the perform maintenance on the Wonder Ride Books and Seiken, "Here we go…" he trailed with a cheerful hum as he opened up one of the storage spaces, soon revealing several Ride Books that were stored for safekeeping, "I only need these three."

Espada and Kenzan stayed silent as they watched Gaze draw out the Brave Dragon, Lion Senki, and Genbu Shinwa Ride Books. He pocketed the books before suddenly adopting a thinking pose and snapping his fingers, quickly taking Saiyuu Journey and Bremen no Rock Band as well.

"Personal Transformation Ride Books should give him the power boost he needs but the extras will be good for insurance," Gaze continued to monologue before looking over at the barely conscious Daishinji, "Thank you for your cooperation."

"W-Wait…" Daishinji gasped as he tried to get up only to cough out and fall on his back, unable to do anything as Gaze turned to leave with Espada and Kenzan following.

---

Calibur let out a quick shout as she withdrew Kurayami from her Hissatsuholder, dark energy leaking and bursting out as held the blade high with both hands, "Out of the way, now!"

Kirika quickly recalled her claw, it opening up before launching back towards her as she caught it while Maria loosened her whip's grip, retracting it and forming it back into her shortsword's blade.

Buster quickly let go of Phantom-N's hands, hopping back while drawing his blade and slashing outwards, cutting through the anomaly's palms as he backed away far enough.

"Perfect," Shirabe quickly snapped her fingers, the moon projections launching down beams that pierced through Phantom-N.

Calibur meanwhile let out a shout as she slashed downwards, unleashing a wave of darkness that crashed down and consumed the anomaly before them.

[DOKUGO ISSEN!]

"And now," Serena formed a pink chain whip from the energy butterflies that gathered around her blade. She swung it back and forth before launching it towards the darkness engulfed Phantom Megid, the whip extending further as it formed a closed ring around the anomaly, "The finale!"

Serena pulled back on her blade while snapping the energy chain, the energy from the chain unleashing a whirlwind that caught Phantom-N within its grasp.

{PIXIE†WHIP}

Kurayami's and Airgetlam's clashing energies inevitably caused a huge explosion as a result of their proximity, a pillar of flames and smoke occurring.

[IKAZUCHI IAI!]

"Huh?" Maria perked up at the announcement alongside several others, "Isn't that Kyoichiro's…"

[DOKUGO ISSEN!]

Purple lightning struck against the six combatants, all of them yelling out as they stumbled or fell to their knees. It didn't take long for a purple burst of wind to tear through the fire and smoke from the explosion, revealing the corrupted Kenzan standing near a heavily torn up Phantom-N as the corrupted Espada dropped down near the two.

"Espada and Kenzan…?" Calibur coughed out as she held her chest.

"What's going on?" Serena asked, "Why would they…?"

"That's not them!" Buster shouted as he managed to stand while holding his sword forward, noticing the additional armaments, "Look at their armor!"

"What the heck?" Kirika questioned, "What's with all the eyes?!"

"They're gross looking," Shirabe admitted.

"Kyoichiro, Amane," Maria spoke up, "What happened to you?"

"Oh that would be because of me you see," Gaze said as he hopped down from a nearby building to land near them, "Or rather the Relic I stole from the FIS Research facility, the Eye of Argus Panoptes."

"Huh?" Maria narrowed her eyes as everyone worked on getting up and in defensive stances as they caught sight of their opponent's unique appearance, "What are you?"

"Ah right, rude of me," Gaze realized he was getting ahead of himself as cleared his throat, "I gave myself the name Gaze, but that doesn't answer what I am. You see I am what you call a Phantom Megid."

"We were right about the name, dess?" Kirika asked.

"More so I heard you all name us and felt it was accurate enough to be the given title of my kind," Gaze answered.

"Wait, you don't actually know what you are?" Buster questioned.

"The Phantom Megid is a sudden and sporadic existence, we just simply… come into being with mere instinct in our minds," Gaze answered as Phantom-N slowly but barely began to recover, "There is just some sort of negative distortion of space and time that occurs in which we anomalies are born into existence. Though we live a simple life, with a simple desire, to obtain Relics… but why? That's an answer I never quite figured out, even with my enhanced knowledge."

"Is this going anywhere…?" Calibur asked in a tense tone.

"The point is… I wish to know why I was born, why I exist," Gaze explained, "In order to do that though I must study the Phantom Megid in my own way. Whether that's helping them by hiding their existence, protecting them, modifying them…" he trailed as he drew the Eye of Argus out from his front pocket before turning and slamming it against Phantom-N's torn open body.

The target was clear as the Eye of Argus was now embedded in the creature's exposed heart… or rather the one piece of the Nephilim that stayed truly intact despite the assimilation, it's heart. A pulsation occurred as the heart began to beat faster and faster before the Eye of Argus launched a beam of energy upwards, the beam splitting into numerous beams that struck through buildings and hit various open spots of the city.

"Hey," Maria narrowed her eyes, stepping forward only to pause when Espada immediately turned towards her, "What did you just do?"

"The Nephilim no matter what form it takes needs to feed to recover," Gaze explained as the faint sound of footsteps could be heard, "It will also assimilate any Relic it can and utilize it, however the Eye of Argus is unique in its abilities… and mixing the two will provide for some interesting results."

"What are you talking about?" Serena asked before pausing at the sound of footsteps growing in number and getting closer.

"What's going on?" Kirika asked as she looked around before noticing various civilians began to come into view, "Dess?!"

"This isn't good, look at their faces," Shirabe pointed out, noting that they all had white masks on with the same enlarged singular eyeball that Espada and Kenzan had on them.

"Hold it," Maria said as she looked around, "Just what do you plan on…"

Before she could finish, Phantom-N let out a guttural distorted screech, the masks shining bright with energy that covered the controlled civilians' bodies. The glowing bodies of the public that it had taken soon compacted themselves into balls of light that launched towards it. The lights began latching onto and then sinking into Phantom-N, its body shining brightly.

"There we go, and finally for the last binding pieces!" Gaze called out as he drew out the Brave Dragon, Lion Senki, and Genbu Shinwa Ride Books he had taken before tossing them towards the shining body of Phantom-N.

Calibur let out a gasp, "Those books!"

A pillar of light occurred from where Phantom-N was, it reaching the sky and piercing clouds, forming a hole in them that let the moon shine down once the pillar of light faded.

"Of… of course…" a new and unfamiliar male voice was heard as the light died down, "I see it… something beyond my prior cursed life of just wanting to devour all… why wasn't it this obvious before?"

Everyone could only stare in shock as before them was what looked like an armored warrior instead of a monster. Phantom-N's body had reconstructed itself, the base being black with a scale-like pattern to it. The armor was a mix of Saber's, Blades', and Buster's done up in a white-grey with purple and blue painted streaks across different parts of the armor.

The forearms were borrowed from buster, the shoulders being Brave Dragon's head though its eyes were lifeless and black. The legs and chest took from Blades' armoring, the Lion Senki head having black lifeless eyes as well. However within the lion head's open jaw was an Eye of Argus. It also had a split coattail that ran down from the back of its waist, it being grey with the same purple and blue streak pattern.

The helmet was fairly rounded, the back half white-grey like the armoring while the front was covered by a tinted black glass domed mask. At its stomach was an oval buckle with the Eye of Argus' signature eye at the center, the buckle and belt being gold while there was fanciful detailing around the eye itself.

"I feel so liberated," the evolved Phantom Megid called out in clear euphoria, "Was this truly what was beyond my repetitive existence?"

"Indeed," Gaze said as he looked his new ally over, "Conscious… aware… you've definitely put to use the people you absorbed similar to me though I of course had a more refined diet."

"Similar to you…" Buster muttered.

"Ah yes, I should probably explain that yes," Gaze said as he turned away from the evolved Phantom Megid who was still coming to terms with its enlightened existence. He cleared his throat, "You see I used to be a normal Phantom Megid, but I was spawned in the most particular place… a… I believe the term is FIS, an FIS facility… where they were testing on an object known as the Eye of Argus."

"They were?" Maria questioned.

"It was in a different facility than ours, where they sent most of the failed testers. There were never any actual results though," Serena spoke up as she looked over, "And from what we're seeing right now, it clearly wasn't ours."

"Correct!" Gaze called out as he held up a finger, "It was another parallel Earth where I absorbed the eye and utilized its ability to control others. I had essentially turned the researchers around me into drones to devour as it was the quickest feeding method… the result allowed me to gain a new existence, a new sentience beyond what I had in my original state."

"Ew, dess," Kirika scrunched up her face.

"Disgusting…" Shirabe frowned.

"Evolution isn't as clean and pretty as you'd like to believe," Gaze said as he heard the remarks, "I'm not sure how much of me is Phantom Megid, or amassed knowledge via Relic, but it doesn't matter. I used my newfound knowledge to amass more knowledge, new techniques, ideas, etc…"

"What am I…?" the new Phantom Megid interrupted as he looked himself over, "I am not what I was once before…"

"Well you never did have a name, but considering all that you've absorbed…" Gaze was broken out of his ramble when he heard this before putting a hand on his ally's shoulder, "How about Chimaera? A fitting name from a being born by combining the Eye of Argus Panoptes with creature related Ride Books."

"Chimaera…" the Phantom Megid repeated before nodding and gripping his fists, "Yes, that will do nicely."

"Perfect, and while I would be content to just leave…" Gaze trailed as he soon let out a sinister chuckle, "I can't exactly have SONG running around Parallel Worlds continually putting a damper on my experiments…"

It was that moment that everyone's blood ran cold, the two Riders and four Wielders quickly getting in defensive stances as the corrupted Riders and evolved Phantom Megids turned to continue the fight.

---

World of Sympho-Saber:

[REKKA BATTOU! WONDER RIDER! DRAGON! ICHAIVAL!]

Saber let out a shout as he leapt away from Amanojaku, his left side shining ready as hexagonal armoring latched on, forming the Ichaival armor. He quickly formed the Relic's crossbow before aiming upwards and launching a burst of arrows up in the air, the arrows curving and raining down on Amanojaku and the Shimi legion.

"A few arrows won't do much to deter me!" Amanojaku called out as he braced against the arrows while backing away, ready to move forward when a burst of wind occurred to force him back further.

[SOU TOU BUNDAN!]

Kenzan suddenly appeared in that burst of wind, performing a rapid series of slashes with his twin blades as he forced Amanojaku on the defensive.

[FUUSOUKEN HAYATE!]

"Ah," Hibiki struck a Shimi in its gut, it crumpling as she looked over, "Ogawa!"

"And the cavalry has arrived," Saber said as he noticed a shining light descending near Tsubasa's battle with the Bee Megid.

"Most of us, Kanade had to stay behind to take care of an issue that popped up," Kenzan admitted, "Just leave the distractions to me."

"Got it," Saber nodded before hurrying towards the fight.

"Youthful Springtime Pollen, here we go again!" the Bee Megid called out as it backed away before spreading its arms out to unleash more pollen towards Tsubasa who went to get in a defensive stance.

"Let there be light!"

[SAIKOU HAKKOU!]

Saikou suddenly dropped down in front of Tsubasa, unleashing a bright light outwards the clashed with the explosive pollen, detonating them early as the Bee Megid staggered back.

"I appreciate the assistance," Tsubasa replied, "That trick of his is dangerous."

"I can only imagine," Saikou replied as he shifted to look back at Tsubasa, "Now then, where's-"

"Here!" Saber called out as he retracted his crossbow and went to grab Saikou in his free hand while brandishing Rekka, "Let's go, Yuri!"

"Very well," Saikou called out, "Let us separate the human from the Megid!"

"I'll leave it in your hands Kamiyama," Tsubasa nodded before turning towards the fights against the Shimi and Amanojaku, "I'll assist the others."

The Bee Megid yelped as it drew out its stingers and began attempting to bat away Saber's swings. It was struck a few times but retaliated by grabbing onto Saber's arms, reeling its head back before slamming it against Saber's for a headbutt.

Saber yelped as he staggered back, but the Bee Megid had staggered back as well, the monster's head having hit Saber's bladed head ornament.

"Jeez, what's with that stupidly dangerous head decoration?!" the Bee Megid called out, "You could stab someone with that!"

"Hey, you're the one hitting it with your own head!" Saber gasped out as he shook his head, a bit disoriented. He then rushed forward, slashing at the Bee Megid with Rekka only for it to grab onto his arm and sword, "Hey, let go!"

"Never!" the Bee Megid yelled out, "Not until I acquire-!"

Saber yelled out and slashed with Saikou, striking the Megid hard enough to let go. The Rider then spun around, performing a kick to force the Megid backwards.

"Alright, let's finish this!" Saber said as he prepared his finisher.

"Like I'll make it that easy," the Bee Megid gasped out as it quickly got back on its feet and launched high into the air. The stingers on its arms began to vibrate as it launched them down at high speeds, "I'll simply bombard you from above!"

Saber quickly let go of Saikou and brought out Ichaival's crossbow again, taking aim and firing out arrows to counter the stingers. He yelped a few times as he was forced to dodge, shooting out more bursts of arrows to try and counter while moving towards more areas with cover.

Amanojaku meanwhile let out a yelp as it dodged against Kenzan's slashes before quickly raising an arm to block a blade courtesy of Tsubasa, "Huh?"

"You're dealing with us now," Tsubasa said as she shifted her blade underneath the Megid's arm before forcing it up, Kenzan slashing past.

"That may be so but I'll give us every advantage I can think of!" Amanojaku shouted as he slipped away from a follow-up attack by Tsubasa before yelling further. The result was a purple wave of fire engrossing the entire area and burning it away as if corroding and tearing apart the pages of the book, changing the area around the current battles into a fairly open quarry.

"Eh?" Hibiki yelped as she stumbled slightly from the change in terrain, quickly ducking underneath a few swings from the Shimi, "We changed locations?!"

"What even is this?" Tsubasa questioned as she backed up slightly.

"It looks like he's modified the area," Kenzan guessed as he kept his guard up, "How does this help you?"

"It gives you less of the environment to use," Amanojaku said as he tapped his head, "And also your swordsman of flame gets less cover from my flying friend."

This was true as Saber was now forced to simply utilize Ichaival's arrows to defend against the constant rain of stingers from the Bee Megid.

"Touma, utilize your flying form!" Saikou called out as he batted away any stingers that got near him.

"I would if I could find the time to!" Saber shouted back, "Yuri, you're small and fast enough to get through, while I keep the Megid's attention on me you can free the host!"

"But…" Saikou trailed, realizing the partial flaw in his ally's plan and quickly hurried off towards the other battles, "Give me a minute, I have an idea!"

"Huh, uh sure I guess!" Saber yelped as he began dancing around, using Rekka to bat away a few stingers while shooting more homing arrows to keep up with the Bee Megid.

Hibiki meanwhile was working on clearing the last of the Shimi Megid. She turned, ready to deal with the last batch when Saikou suddenly launched inwards. He sliced through the Shimi with ease, the Megid grunts falling down and exploding.

"Ah, thanks Yuri," Hibiki smiled before realizing something, "Wait, what about Touma?"

"Don't worry, we have a plan," Saikou answered, "But I will acquire you assistance."

"Just tell me what you need and I'll do it," Hibiki said as she pumped her fist.

---

Falchion let out a shout as she stabbed forward at a rapid pace, using the size of Gungnir to force Sabela on the defensive this time. She jabbed forward again, Sabela blocking though Falchion used this to slip around the Swordswoman of Smoke while shifting her spear, twirling it before stabbing again.

"There!" Sabela called out as she managed to dodge inwards while moving forward, performing a slash against Falchion's shoulder as she had managed to land a hit. To her surprise however, Falchion had barely budged and the swing didn't seem to do much damage, the blade simply resting on Falchion's shoulder, "Huh?"

"Not bad," Falchion admitted as she grabbed her opponent's blade, stepping forward and forcing Sabela to backpedal to keep standing. She batted away a counter swing once Sabela got Noroshi out of her grip, and quickly stabbed against Sabela's gut, dragging the Swordswoman of Smoke back further before unleashing a burst of energy, "But the new look isn't just for show!"

Sabela gasped out as she staggered back before quickly initiating her blade's special ability.

[NOROSHI MUCHUU!]

Sabela burst into smoke again, Falchion getting in a defensive stance as the smoke spiraled around the phoenix Rider.

"I can't smell you but…" Falchion muttered before letting out a yell as she spun, allowing Gungnir's tip to shallowly cut the ground around her. She then stabbed downwards, unleashing fiery energy into the ground before it erupted all around her, "Let's see how you handle this!"

{SATURN∞BREAK}

The smoke spiraling around suddenly spread out further and away from the eruption, gathering back together and forming Sabela who landed on one knee.

"What?" Sabela questioned as she stood up.

"Knew it," Falchion chuckled as she got in a relaxed stance while taking a step forward, "If I can't predict your movements then I'll just scare you off."

"Scare me off, huh…" Sabela gripped her weapon tightly before flipping backwards into the air while initiating her Seiken's finisher, "Very well!"

[NOROSHI MUCHUU!]

Butterfly wing projections manifested onto her back as she used them to float backwards while floating higher, eight mechanical spider legs sprouting out and gathering energy at their tips.

"You want to play it like that," Falchion said as she initiated her Bladriver's finisher, "Fine!"

[HISSATSU MOKUDO!]

A bright aura of red energy erupted from Falchion who held her arm up while drawing Gungnir back. The energy turned from red to orange as it increased further, before going from orange to purple as the energy was suddenly sucked into Gungnir itself.

[INSECT SHOT!]

Sabela slashed forward, unleashing a slash of energy as the spider legs stabbed forward as well, unleashing more energy slashes. All nine slashes combined together and spiraled towards Falchion.

Falchion simply let out a yell and tossed her spear towards the energy spiral, "Sagittarius Arrow!"

The spear hurtled towards the energy spiral like normal until it released a sudden burst of energy. The burst launched it faster and caused it to clash earlier with Sabela's attack. Despite clashing briefly the spear managed to disperse the combined energy attacks, hurtling straight towards Sabela.

[GEKISŌ HISSATSU MUSOU GEKI!]

Just as the spear reached Sabela, the Swordswoman of Smoke immediately burst into smoke, the spear hurtling past and flying off into the distance. It didn't take long for the smoke to spiral around the roof of a building before reforming.

"I suppose I did underestimate you Kanade," Sabela muttered before turning and walking off.

"Phew," Falchion slumped slightly as she watched Sabela walk off before straightening up and putting a hand on her hip, "Hope this means you'll be better about picking fights next time."

"Not a bad show," Desast said with a chuckle as he began to walk off.

"Oh right," Falchion turned, "Sorry if I cut things off."

"Nah, you did more than enough," Desast said as he thought back on the finisher clash, right before Sabela chose to retreat, he couldn't sense any fear and dread. It was that same fearlessness that reminded him of one of his talks with Maria back when she was part of the FIS, and how he had honed in on the broken Symphogear that held the stench of blood, "I've got to say, that Master Logos guy picked some interesting people… that's for sure."

"Wait, what?" Falchion stared as she watched Desast sink into the shadow of a nearby building, "What's that supposed to mean?"

---

World of Lunar Reckoning:

Shirabe gritted her teeth, sliding backwards thanks to Shul Shagana's wheels. She held her yo-yos close, grinding them and forming out sparks that grew into crescent energy blades that launched outwards. Despite this she was forced to throw her yo-yos out and counter as Kenzan had launched Hayate in its shuriken form to break past her attacks and strike directly.

The Fuusouken Hayate was deflected, Kenzan calling it back towards her only for a giant slab of rock to rise out of the ground between the two. The result knocked the Seiken away as Kenzan was forced to slip around and dodge against Buster who tried striking her with Gekido.

Kirika meanwhile yelped as she was on the defensive, using her large claw to block attacks while utilizing her monkey-like agility to dodge against Espada's quick movements. The corrupted Rider of Thunder was zipping around utilizing his element, trying to trip up and strike at Kirika.

Eventually he had managed to land behind her, stabbing forward only for dark energy to gather between the Rider and Wielder. A dark portal suddenly opened up, Calibur bracing against the stab with Kurayami before unleashing a pulse of darkness to force it back.

"Thanks," Kirika said as Calibur nodded, the two ready to charge forward when a snap was heard, energy blasts raining down against them as they were forced to dodge.

Shirabe was ready to assist Buster only to be forced to dodge back from lasers as well. Her head jolted up, noticing that the eye drones that Gaze controlled were the cause.

"Can't make this too easy," Gaze remarked.

Maria and Serena yelled out, the two slashing out with their blades and clashing with Chimaera's arms, the evolved anomaly managing to keep them both back.

"This isn't good," Maria said through gritted teeth.

"We just need to keep fighting," Serena encouraged.

Chimaera let out a yell as he managed to force the two sisters back before lunging in and grabbing them by their wrists. The two Wielders could only stare wide in surprise as they were lifted up into the air by Chimaera's brute strength, the anomaly swinging his arms outwards before moving inwards.

Maria and Serena both yelled out as they slammed against each other, being let go of as Chimaera unleashed a burst of heat to launch them backwards. The Cadenzavna Eve sisters could only grunt as they were sent tumbling away from Chimaera as result.

"There has to be a way to put a dent into it," Maria said as she pushed herself up, "At least to force it to retreat."

"I'll give you an opening then," Serena winced as she managed to pick herself up, "Hit it with everything you've got."

"Alright then," Maria nodded as she fully stood, bringing out Bakusou Usagi to Kame and preparing her transformation with it, "Henshin!"

{Ride Change: Usagi-Kame Airgetlam!}

A green turtle shell projection formed over Maria, pink whirlwind shattering it to reveal her Ride Gear form of Usagi-Kame Airgetlam. She wasted no time, initiating her finisher as the boosters on her gauntlet and boots began to prep themselves.

"Now then," Serena turned towards Chimaera before leaping upwards while holding her blade up, "Let's see how you like this!"

She had launched herself up high into the air, her body casting a shadow as she was bathed by the moon's light. Soon enough purple energy suddenly spawned as she threw her hand down, aiming her blade at Chimaera.

The result was the energy breaking apart into energy daggers that rained down towards the evolved anomaly.

{WARM†LUNALIGHT}

Chimaera looked up while backing away, soon hopping back as the first daggers began to land and explode upon impact. The advanced Phantom Megid had continually dodged, bouncing off of cars and occasionally building walls while twisting its body in different ways to avoid from being hit, soon landing.

{Hissatsu Dokuha!}

Just as it had avoided the last of the energy daggers, the area suddenly grew near pitch black as pink glints of light could be seen in the distance before vanishing.

"Rapid Oblivian…!"

Chimaera suddenly heard a sound behind it, turning only to get its stomach punched in by Maria's left fist. She had encased her gauntlet and fist in a hexagonal turtle shell-like projection, yelling out as she unleashed the energy. The result was an explosion of energy that engulfed Chimaera.

{Usagi-Kame Airgetlam! Issatsu Geki!}

Chimaera yelled out, the explosion being enough to propel it backwards. It thought quickly however, curling up and righting its body as it managed to land on the ledge of a low building.

"No way…" Maria's eyes widened as she saw she had only caused scratches and burn marks to its stomach and chest, the scratches healing fairly fast, "It's still…"

"This is getting nowhere…" Chimaera let out a low grunt as it looked around, trying to use its newfound intelligence to survey and figure out the situation. Espada and Kenzan were busy, and Gaze while an ally, was definitely trying to give it a chance to work through its new growth, "More… I need more to serve under me…"

"What is it mumbling about?" Serena questioned, also shocked to see that Maria's attack hadn't done much damage. That was until it saw the eye within the Lion's head on Chimaera's chest start to shine brightly. Her eyes widened, "Maria, look out!"

"Huh?" Maria snapped out of her shock too late as Chimaera had launched a beam of blue energy towards her. Quickly gathering herself she initiated another finisher, pouring all of the energy into forming a turtle-like shield projection to defend against the beam.

{Hissatsu Dokuha!}

The beam clashed against the shield, Maria yelling out as she tried to push more and more energy into the defense to stave off the attack. It had been too late for her to dodge, and the beam was so large that her shield was barely holding it back.

"I'm not about to let you hurt her!" Serena quickly brought out a second copy of her shortsword, holding both at her sides and raising them up only to gasp as energy struck her palms. The result sent her weapons out of her hands before she winced as more beams of energy struck against her, "W-What is…?!"

"And I'm not about to let you stop my friend's sudden idea," Gaze said as he had his eye drones target Serena to force her back, "Chimaera!"

"Huh?" Maria turned as she watched as Serena was assaulted by the eye drones, "Serena!"

"You're not stopping this!" Chimaera yelled out as it increased the power on its beam, it growing larger as Maria's shield began to crack and chip away.

Maria quickly turned back towards her shield, yelling out as she went to push her Ride Gear to its limits. And she indeed did push her alternate form to its limits as sudden crackling and error noises rang out as sparks flew, Maria gasping as her Ride Gear form was forcefully ejected, leaving her back in her base armor of Airgetlam.

This of course caused the shield to instantly break, Maria letting out a scream as the beam that Chimaera had launched out had engulfed her.

The Riders and Wielders fighting had broken away from each other and paused at the scream, turning towards where Maria was engulfed.

"What?" Buster let out a light gasp, "Maria!"

Kirika and Shirabe's eyes could only widen in horror as they saw their older friend engulfed in the enhanced Phantom Megid's light.

Serena could only let out a light gasp as she saw this, unaware that the eye drones had stopped targeting her once the beam had hit.

Everyone stared in silence as the light from the beam faded, revealing Maria was still standing. However Buster and Calibur immediately got on guard, noticing Maria's silhouette was different.

As the light and smoke fully faded, Maria could be seen in a modified Airgetlam. There was a blacker coloration alongside a deeper cyan that overtook the usual color that was on the Gear. Her upper body armor was adorned with gold decorative pieces, various eyeballs added to the armor. Lastly she had gained a long mermaid dress-styled skirt, various cloth wrapping around in segments with eyes at the end. The blade of Airgetlam had changed too, now having an eye with gold decorations where the hilt would be, the blade now having a gold tip.

"Maria…?" Serena asked warily but froze when the silent Wielder turned towards her, stepping back as she caught sight of Maria's face.

Maria's face was obscured entirely, a white mask with light blue markings along the edges, a singular eye representing the Eye of Argus on the front of the mask.

"It's just like with Kyoichiro and Amane," Shirabe said as she stared at their now controlled friend, gripping her hands tightly, "This is…"

"Terrible dess…!" Kirika called out in horror as she began to shake.

"Excellent work, subjugating another of their allies was a smart play," Gaze complimented as he clapped a few times.

"It felt like the correct choice, plus I figured the more that could help me the better," Chimaera answered, "Though I think with two Riders and one Wielder… I should be good."

"I agree, we can just deal with the rest here and now while taking their equipment," Gaze said in a casual manner, "So let's get on that."

"Serena, Sophia," Nastassja's voice could be heard on the other line though she seemed to be a bit out of breath but retained her calm demeanor, "Take the others and retreat."

"Wait what?" Serena asked in surprise, "But-!"

"You're completely outmatched, you need to regroup," Nastassja answered as firmly as she could, "That is an order, understood?"

"Understood, it will take a bit but we'll fall back," Calibur said before glancing at Buster and holding out her hand, "Buster, I need your auxiliary book."

"Of course," Buster said as he drew out Jackun To Domamenoki and held it towards Calibur.

"Thank you," Calibur said as she began scanning the Ride Book a few times.

[JAAKU-NA-MAMENOKI! KURAYAMI HISSATSU GEKI!]

Purple energy began spiraling from Kurayami's blade, Calibur giving a yell as she shifted the blade to where it was pointing downwards. With both hands she slammed it down into the ground, cracks suddenly erupting as purple glowing vines suddenly launched out and all around.

Kenzan, Espada, Maria, Chimaera, and Gaze were all forced to dodge and defend themselves as the vines split apart and tried to ensnare them.

[SHUUTOKU SANSEN!]

"Now then," Buster said before looking over at the remaining Wielders, "We need to retreat for now!"

"You can't be serious!" Serena called out.

"But…" Kirika trailed before letting out a light gasp, looking over to see Shirabe grasping her hand, "Shirabe…"

"If we're going to help Maria we'll need a chance to take a breath and figure things out," Shirabe said calmly, though despite this Kirika could feel her hand shaking, "Alright?"

"Alright…" Kirika nodded as she firmed her grip to help calm Shirabe down while allowing herself to be pulled along towards Buster and Calibur.

"Serena, we need to get going," Calibur said as the dark vines began to get chipped away at, some being torn apart, "We don't have much time."

"…" Serena stayed silent as she looked down before shaking her head and quickly hurrying towards the others.

"And now," Calibur said as she backed away from Buster, turning and slashing at the open air. Soon enough a dark portal opened up in front of her. "Get in!"

"Roger," Buster said as he hurried through the portal, Kirika and Shirabe doing the same.

Serena made it to the portal before stopping and turning back, barely managing to see Maria through what gaps the vines allowed. She simply closed her eyes and turned back towards the portal before running in.

"We'll be back," Calibur muttered under her breath before hurrying through the portal, it vanishing just as the dark vines were torn apart.

"They got away?" Chimaera questioned.

"We know where they're based," Gaze replied, "It's a futile effort at the end of the day."

"What's the plan then?" Chimaera asked.

"Well we'll need to appropriate the FIS' supplies regardless," Gaze answered, "But for now let's work on strengthening your mind, if you're to last long and assert better control over your puppets, you'll need to amass more knowledge."

"I see," Chimaera nodded.

---

A dark portal opened up at the FIS Research Facility's hanger, everyone stumbling out of it with Calibur not far behind.

"Is everyone alright?" Buster asked as Kirika and Shirabe nodded.

"As alright as we can be," Serena said with a light grimace as she and everyone else dismissed their transformations, "Why did we have to retreat?"

"Would you be able to fight your sister like that?" Sophia asked, "Even if she's from an alternate universe?"

"I… of course not…" Serena trailed as she looked away.

"I'm the same, I'd rather not harm Espada and Kenzan and I'm sure you wouldn't either," Sophia answered as she turned to head to the exit of the hanger, "We need a break in the fighting to figure out what to do next."

"Right," Serena nodded as she gripped her hands tightly before following.

"Are you two going to be alright?" Genjuro asked as he looked over at Kirika and Shirabe, "You two can…"

"No we'll join you all," Kirika shook her head, a serious expression on her face, "We may not know a lot, but we want to try and help you all figure out how to save Maria."

"That's right," Shirabe replied, "We're not about to give up on her."

"Alright then," Genjuro let out a small smile at their determination before heading off after Sophia and Serena with Kirika and Shirabe following after him.

---

Nastassja was currently alone in central command, having had the researchers go off and take care of assessing the damages while dismissing any operators. The only other one in the room was Daishinji who had managed to recover just as Nastassja had found him.

While Nastassja had ordered the retreat, she was going back to what video footage she was able to obtain on the infected Riders, Wielder, alongside Gaze and Chimaera. Daishinji was currently reviewing the footage with her, trying to figure out a plan of attack.

"So what's your take on the situation?" Nastassja asked.

"We can likely free them," Daishinji said as he looked over the footage of Kenzan and Espada but soon looked over at what little they saw of the corrupted Maria and let out a low hum, "That being said two of them have an easier method than the other…"

"I see," Nastassja said as she narrowed her eyes, already understanding what Daishinji had seen.

"We've returned," Sophia announced as she and Serena entered with the others, soon giving a breath of relief when she saw Daishinji fairly alright aside from some scuffs on his clothes, "You're alright, Slash."

"Yeah," Daishinji nodded as he drew out Hanselnuts to Gretel from his inner overalls pocket, "Thankfully hiding the last transformation Ride Book helped me when I most needed it."

"Oh," Sophia said before noticing he had Suzune holstered, "Were you…"

"Only if necessary," Daishinji answered as he turned away, "But even if I did choose to transform, it would hold little meaning if we don't form a solid strategy."

"Speaking of," Serena said as she stepped forward, "Mom, please tell me you have an idea on how to help them."

"We were just reviewing the footage now," Nastassja replied, "And I do believe that Tetsuo here had an idea."

"Tetsuo…?" Kirika muttered.

"Daishinji's first name," Shirabe whispered.

"Eh?" Kirika looked over, "We always call him Daishinji so I never questioned it, dess…"

"What's the idea?" Serena asked, clearly intent on figuring out how to help Maria.

"The way Argus' control seems to assert itself is different depending on who the light hits," Daishinji said as he pulled up footage of the controlled civilians, "The masks for civilians, extra armoring for Riders, or completely changing Airgetlam in Maria's case."

"It's all exterior additions," Genjuro said as he could only guess at what the Swordsmith was trying to say about the current situation, "So all we need to do is break them off."

"As much as brute force would be the easiest way to proceed, I have noticed something," Nastassja noted as she zoomed in at a few civilian faces, showcasing the mask seemed to be fused to a person's face, as if replacing it, "I doubt that the masks are as easy to break as you'd assume."

"Correct," Daishinji nodded as he zoomed the footage in on Espada and Kenzan, showcasing the main eye on their armor, "Due to Rider Armor not exactly being a Relic, the Eye of Argus can only force extra armoring and thus if we strike the main eye on their armor then it should free them."

"What about Maria?" Kirika asked.

"Yeah, I didn't get a good look but it didn't seem to be the same case with her," Shirabe added.

"You're right," Daishinji replied, "It appears as though thanks to Airgetlam being a Relic, the Eye of Argus has combined itself with the Symphogear, creating an almost Duo-Relic fusion of sorts. Likewise Maria's mask seems to work like the civilians and she has no clear main eye on her like the Riders."

"Hmm…" Nastassja let out a low hum at the thought of a Duo-Relic fusion, quickly going back to reviewing the footage on the console she was near.

"Then how exactly do we save her?" Serena asked as her worry grew.

"That… we don't know yet," Daishinji said as he shook his head, "And even with our idea for Kyoichiro and Amane, there's no telling if normal attacks can break the main eye. We need some kind of extra power and that's if breaking the eye won't cause negative side effects…"

"That is true," Genjuro said as he crossed his arms.

"But what other option is there than breaking to remove it?" Sophia asked, "It's not as if we can erase the main eye itself."

"Erase…" Shirabe muttered before realizing something as her eyes widened, "Wait, what about Shenshoujing?"

"Wait, what?" Sophia asked.

"Shenshoujing's light can erase Relics," Shirabe explained in realization before looking over at Nastassja, "Mom, if this is a similar enough FIS Facility to the one in the main world then you should have Shenshoujing whether it be the Relic itself or the Symphogear in your storage."

"That is correct, we do have the Shenshoujing Symphogear," Nastassja replied as she looked back from assessing the footage, "However we don't have a Wielder."

"We might not need one, especially if it's already refined into a Symphogear," Daishinji replied, "If I could see that and modify a Blank Ride Book to house it so I could make use of its energy…"

"That may just work," Nastassja replied, "We've tested its usage through machinery in the past before arriving in Japan, and were able to make usage of its abilities well enough."

"But that won't work with Maria," Kirika spoke up, "If there's nothing to remove on her we'd have to fully erase her Gear, dess."

"Kirika's right," Genjuro replied, "And even if using Shenshoujing didn't fully erase it, the damage from its usage might be too much for our Airgetlam to function again."

"But we can't just leave her like that," Serena argued.

"If we can't erase the Eye of Argus from Airgetlam, then we overwhelm it with another Relic," Nastassja spoke up as she brought up footage of when Maria's Ride Gear form broke before she was bathed in Argus' light, "If she was utilizing her Ride Gear form still she might have had some resistance to the foreign Relic subjugating her Gear. So in that case we overwhelm Argus' control with a new Relic."

"But what Relic would we even do it with?" Daishinji asked.

"Gungnir…" Serena spoke up in realization as everyone looked towards her, "Maria's able to sync up with both Gungnir and Airgetlam as her main Symphogear, so if we were to combine both together…"

"Our Maria is the only one who has Gungnir, and she's overseas," Sophia reminded, "Even then, how would we even implement it? I doubt simply holding the pendant close by would even work."

"That's uh…" Serena trailed as she was stumped in that regard, "I'm not sure…"

"Our Ride Gear transformations directly interact with our Gears," Shirabe spoke up, "We can use that."

"Oh yeah, dess," Kirika nodded, "It'd be as simple as initiating the Ride Gear transformation."

"But there is no existing Ride Book based on Gungnir," Daishinji argued.

"The Ride Gear you've seen so far is only half of it, the other half is newly created Ride Books based on the Relics they wield," Genjuro answered as he crossed his arms, "We never did think of testing it but considering her compatibility with both Airgetlam and Gungnir, it would make sense for her to be able to utilize it."

"But wait, dess," Kirika said as she looked over, "Doesn't Kanade have the Ride Book for Gungnir right now?"

"She does," Shirabe replied, "Ever since she gained her new form thanks to it she's been holding onto it."

"Considering the situation I doubt she'll mind," Genjuro said as he brought out the Book Gate, "Besides, crossing worlds with Gjallarhorn is a lot easier than crossing the sea."

"Considering everything, it's our best option," Nastassja spoke up as she looked towards the Commander of SONG, "Please go immediately."

"Of course," Genjuro said before hurrying out of central command, planning on rushing back to the nearby forest to open the gateway.

"With that said, we should get preparations underway," Daishinji said as he glanced at Nastassja.

"Yes, let us head to the Relic vault to retrieve the Shenshoujing," Nastassja nodded, soon walking out with Daishinji.

"So, what do we do for now?" Kirika asked.

"Rest would probably do us some good," Sophia said as she went to walk out of central command, "We've already got a plan, all we need to do is wait."

"Right," Serena gave a soft nod though she stared at the floor as she went to walk out, Shirabe taking notice of this.

---

Several orbs of light floated through the air, all of them soon entering the eye within the lion's mouth on Chimaera's chest.

"There we go, much better," Chimaera said as his body began to pulsate before relaxing, "I feel myself gaining a clearer mind…"

"Perfect," Gaze said as he clasped his hands together, currently still in the city with Chimaera alongside the corrupted Riders and Wielder. He had managed to spot a few civilians who weren't in a bunker and instructed Chimaera to go after them.

"What shall we do now?" Chimaera asked.

"Return to our base in this world for now," Gaze replied, "We have the advantage but I need to use this chance to continue working on a few off world projects."

"I see," Chimaera replied, "Whatever helps us."

"Yes, multitasking is the key here," Gaze replied, "While I continue to further my plans and reach, I plan on giving you just the help you'll need to take down the FIS and SONG's expedition here without my help for a bit."

"Understood," Chimaera replied.

---

World of Sympho-Saber:

Falchion let out a brief grunt as she landed on a building, having reverted to her base form to save on energy. Due to her intense fight she was running low, so she couldn't travel in the air for long stretches of time at the moment. This meant she'd have to be content with forming wing constructs and using them to glide.

Of course she paused when she heard her radio crackle, holding a hand up to her helmet.

"Hey, what's up?" Falchion asked only to wince at the slight heavy breathing she assumed was from Genjuro, "Boss man? Did everything go alright with the mission?"

"We're deep in the mission still," Genjuro said between breaths, "But as important as stopping the Megid I was just informed about is, I need you to return to base."

"What?" Falchion questioned, not liking the sudden order to return to base, "Why?"

"I need Gekisō Gungnir," Genjuro replied, "We've run into a potentially terrible situation and this might just be the key to helping Maria."

"Wait, Maria?" Falchion asked in surprise at the sudden information, "Just what happened?"

"There's no time to explain," Genjuro argued as the tone of his voice made it easy to tell that there was no room for argument, "I need Gekisō Gungnir immediately."

"Alright," Falchion said as she turned to change directions, recognizing the gravity of the situation, "I'll be there soon."

To Be Continued…

---

Author's Note: It wouldn't be a Phantom Megid related mission without something going horribly wrong. In this case I drew a bit from little I've seen of the Eye of Argus in XDU. Whether it's the functions that Gaze shows off or the corrupted form I gave Maria based on the Evil Eye Gear she had during the event it's from. Though speaking of Gaze we get our first meeting between him and SONG finally as he gives his origins and motives.

Then on the main world we've got the Megid plot progressing as usual. But the real draw this time around was the Falchion vs. Sabela rematch. It was fun to do in regards to dialogue and just showing how Kanade is capable of much more now that she's got Gungnir back in her own way. That said, it looks like everything's about to wrap up on both sides soon with how things are progressing. With that said, thanks for reading and I'll see you next time.