Sympho-Saber: Song of Swords

RXU:EP11 – Luminous Transformation, Spiraling Counterattack

World of Sympho-Saber:

"Oh man, I can't believe this is what's stalling you!" the Bee Megid called out with a laugh as it continued to rapidly launch out stingers towards Saber who was still on the defensive. He then unleashed two larger stingers which broke into multiple ones that would rain down all at once, "You'll never reach me!"

[MAKYŪ ICHAIVAL]

"Who even said I was the one that needed to reach you?!" Saber questioned as he had quickly retracted his weapon, launching out reflector units to defend against the hailstorm of stingers.

[SAIKOU HAKKOU!]

"Huh?" the Bee Megid turned as it saw a shining yellow-white wheel of energy launch towards it from below its side, "What even?!"

It was Saikou who was spinning rapidly while leaving a trail of light behind from the tip of his blade, "Let there be light!"

The Bee Megid gasped out as it was sliced into rapidly by the spinning Saikou, a purple burst occurring as the Megid and older man it had latched onto had now been separated.

"No way!" the Bee Megid gasped out as it plummeted towards the ground in shock.

"Alright, there we go!" Saber called out before realizing something as he grasped his helmet in shock, "Oh no, I forgot about the host!"

"Don't worry," Saikou called out, "I took it into account."

It didn't take long for Hibiki to launch into view, the back boosters of her Symphogear propelling her towards the man as she caught him in her arms. She soon began to spin before dropping down towards the ground feet first.

[GOOD LUCK!]

"The Megid's all yours Touma!" Hibiki called out as she continued to drop down.

"Thank goodness," Saber let out a sigh of relief as he slotted Rekka into his Swordriver and initiated the Driver's finisher, "Time to end this!"

[HISSATSU DOKUHA!]

Saber extended the Armed Gear on his left arm further, forming a large bow the size of his body as his right hand lit on fire. He pulled back on the string, forming an arrow of fire as he did. He took aim as he watched the Bee Megid try to use its wings to slow its descent.

This was the perfect chance for the Rider to line up a shot, waiting as he kept a firm grip on his fire manifested arrow. It only took a couple more seconds for the perfect shot as he let out a shout, releasing the arrow and launching it forward.

The arrow construct shot forward at high speeds, the fire suddenly bursting apart and growing into a flaming dragon head that opened its mouth wide. The Bee Megid suddenly felt an intense heat and turned its head, giving a yell as the dragon head construct slammed its fiery maw shut on it.

[DRAGON! ICHAIVAL! NISATSU GEKI! F-F-FIRE!]

The Bee Megid's screams were drowned out by the fire soon turned explosion that occurred mid-air.

"Alright," Hibiki smiled as she landed, slowly but surely setting the unconscious older man down, "There we go."

"And that's that," Saber nodded as Saikou floated towards him.

"No way, they actually managed it?!" Amanojaku questioned before gasping as he was struck in the stomach by the blades of Ame no Habakiri and Fuusouken Hayate. He could only groan out as he was slashed past, sparks flying.

"Ogawa," Tsubasa said as she held a hand out.

"On it," Kenzan withdrew his Ride Book and tossed it to Tsubasa while launching forward and drawing out Zettō Ame no Habakiri, "Azure Flaming Sword Dance!"

[SARUTOBI NINJADEN! NINNIN!]

Keeping his blades split they were lit with blue fire, slashing against the Megid several times before slicing past. He spun and stabbed his weapons into the ground, the fires that lingered now igniting and spreading while Amanojaku was stuck in place.

{Shadow Weaving}

"W-What even is this?!" Amanojaku gasped out as its body began to degrade from the constant damage.

{Hissatsu Dokuha: Sarutobi Ninjaden}

"An unmatched storm…" Tsubasa said as she gathered the wind into her blade, it spiraling inwards and causing a green shine to appear. The shine extended the blade further as she held it up before slicing down against the immobile Amanojaku, "Habakiri's Requiem!"

{Ride Gear Finish!}

Amanojaku yelled out as he was sliced into by the extended blade, energy being released from the blade and homing into various sharp crescent bursts of wind that sliced through its body further. The Megid could only groan out as he fell forward, exploding as the quarry faded back into the plaza they had started the fight in.

"Demon slaying complete," Tsubasa said as she went to dismiss her sword, "Unfortunately he is a completed Megid, correct?"

"Yes," Kenzan nodded as he looked over while removing his blades from the ground, "So long as his book exists, he'll likely bother us again."

"At the very least, we've spared someone else from that fate," Tsubasa said as she looked over to see Touma and Hibiki both making sure the man who had played host to the Bee Megid was alright.

Genjuro was currently in Gjallarhorn's room, having returned after he had briefly informed Sophia and the others on base of the situation. With Kanade contacted, all that was left to do was to wait. Of course when it came to waiting he wasn't alone as the first person to open the door to the room wasn't Kanade but Daishinji.

"This is a surprise," Genjuro replied, "Especially since you didn't speak up earlier after I got back."

"While your plan is reckless, it's a solid guess, especially with how Kanade reacted to the Ride Book," Daishinji answered before he held out his hand, revealing Ginwan Airgetlám, Tri-Cerberus, and Needle Hedgehog's Ride Books in his hand, "But you'll need some extra firepower for yourself alongside Kirika and Shirabe."

"Makes sense," Genjuro admitted as he took the three Ride Books before pocketing them, "An extra Airgetlam will be useful alongside giving our other Wielders more options. Plus I'd rather not deprive the Espada of that world of his Ride Books."

"It's not like our Espada needs them, yet," Daishinji replied.

"How is that going by the way?" Genjuro asked, "It's a rarity to see you in the base these days."

"Very well," Daishinji admitted, "If you'd like to sit in and maybe help out, we'd welcome it. Tsubasa's been a great help as of late."

"Maybe I will," Genjuro smiled before hearing the doors open, him and Daishinji turning to see Kanade at the entrance, hunched over and panting.

"Thanks for coming here on short notice," Genjuro said as he walked over, "You made it here pretty fast too."

"Hey considering how you sounded, I knew I couldn't slack off," Kanade said as she caught her breath.

"Now that's a surprise," Daishinji remarked, "Especially with how you laze about."

"Hey, I get results don't I?" Kanade asked with a light grin before shaking her head, "Anyway, are you sure you only need the Ride Book? I could-"

"You were already in an intense battle," Genjuro said as he interrupted the phoenix Rider, "Not to mention with how our enemy is, the more fighters we have the worse it could turn out."

"Oh jeez," Kanade replied as she handed over Gekisō Gungnir, "Just what happened?"

"Aside from it being a Primary World we discovered, too much to recount at the moment," Genjuro said as he took the Ride Book and pocketed it before he turned back towards Gjallarhorn, "I'll detail everything in full once we return."

"Stay safe," Daishinji said.

"Do you know who you're talking to?" Kanade asked with a chuckle, "Still, good luck out there boss man."

"Thanks, and don't worry, we'll all come back," Genjuro said as he went to initiate his transformation, "Henshin!"

World of Lunar Reckoning:

Chimaera let out a loud yawn as he sat in the cave that he had hid out in while he was Phantom-N. Around him were Espada, Kenzan and Maria, the three standing still as they were still corrupted under the influence of the Eye of Argus.

"Sorry about the wait," Gaze spoke up.

Chimaera turned towards the entrance of the cave, watching as a swirling vortex formed with Gaze stepping out alongside two modified Phantom Megid. The vortex remained open however, Chimaera noticing this and recalled Gaze's words from earlier.

The two with Gaze were base Phantom Megid, though they had gold decorative headbands that held the Eye of Argus as the centerpiece. Each was modified differently however as they respectively had Saiyuu Journey and Bremen no Rockband embedded into their bodies to enhance them.

The one enhanced by Saiyuu Journey had rectangular shoulders with carved monkey faces on them. Various gold swirling clouds formed armored plates on its arms and chest, a red ring attached to its back. Lastly it held a long red pole with gold tipped ends.

The one enhanced by Bremen no Rockband had boxy magenta shoulders with speakers embedded in them, piano keys lining the chest while bronze armor with yellow accents formed guitar and drum shaped armoring on the biceps and forearms respectively. Lastly they held a gold trumpet with a bird motif, the trumpet having features resembling a gun.

"Meet Saiyuu and Bremen, two Phantom Megid I modified to help assist you," Gaze said as he gestured towards the two.

"I take it you mean their headgear," Chimaera said as he pointed towards his forehead.

"Yes, I've given them small copies of my knowledge in order to make them a bit more adept at fighting," Gaze replied, "The hope is to clean up and then further enhance them properly with what Relics we take."

"I see," Chimaera replied, "So when do we strike?"

"I'll leave that at your discretion," Gaze replied as he turned to head through the vortex, "I'll be back soon once I finish this quick research, so I should catch you at an opportune time regardless."

"Right," Chimaera said as he watched Gaze walk into the vortex before it shrunk and vanished. He then looked around at the Phantom Megid, Riders and Wielder he was put in charge of, "Then I do believe we should get started soon."

Serena let out a soft sigh as she was in her room, currently staring at her Symphogear Pendant as she fidgeted with it in her hands. Sophia had told everyone to relax until the inevitable battle, yet all she could do was grow more anxious as the minutes passed.

At least until she was distracted by sudden knocking at her door.

"Come in," Serena spoke up in slight surprise, though she was even more surprised to see Shirabe and Kirika at the door, "Oh, Shirabe, Kirika. Is everything alright?"

"Yes, dess," Kirika nodded before glancing at Shirabe, "But…"

"We just wanted to check on you before things picked up again," Shirabe took the lead as she walked into the room with Kirika.

"Aside from pre-mission nerves, I think I'm doing alright," Serena said as she tried to give a reassuring smile, though it seemed like it was forced. Her face relaxed as she lowered her head however, realizing she couldn't hold it in anymore, "Honestly I'm scared…"

"Wait, you are?" Kirika asked in surprise.

"It's about Maria, right?" Shirabe asked, wanting to get to the heart of the issue.

"It's silly, admittedly," Serena continued, "Worrying about an alternate version of my sister, and yet…"

"Even if she's not your version of Maria, I'm sure it still hurts," Kirika spoke up.

"Yeah, it's not silly at all," Shirabe shook her head.

"I guess I'm scared about failing her… but also…" Serena trailed as she looked up in worry briefly before lowering her head again, "I'm scared about failing you two."

"Failing us?" Shirabe questioned.

"You already lost your Serena and I imagine you're very close to your Maria," Serena replied as she kept staring at the ground, "I'm just… afraid that something might go wrong and we won't be able to save her… and you two will be…"

"Please don't be worried," Kirika hurried over with Shirabe before raising her fists, "Everything will work out so long as we work together."

"Yeah," Shirabe agreed, "We'd never blame you if something went wrong either."

"If anything we'd probably blame ourselves, dess," Kirika let out a sheepish chuckle.

"Look at you two," Serena let out a more sincere smile as she raised her head to face the two Wielders in front of her, "Even though you're not mine, you've really grown up, huh?"

"I guess we have, but even then I'd like to think we're still scared," Shirabe admitted much to Serena's surprise, "But we can't let that fear overwhelm us, especially with Maria's life at stake."

"That's right," Kirika replied, "That's why we've got to take that fear head on!"

Despite their fears the two Wielders were able to stand strong because they knew they had to. They had already lost Kento, and they weren't about to lose Maria, especially if they were able to actively fight to save her.

"Thank you," Serena said as she went to hug the two who hugged her back, "I wasn't sure at first… but we'll get through this."

"We will," Shirabe agreed.

"That's right," Kirika smiled before holding up her finger, soon pointing towards the digital camera and stand off to the side, "Plus we've still got to have Kyoichiro take our picture."

"That's right, we only ever got the group photo in," Shirabe realized.

"I suppose that is true," Serena said with a light giggle.

Nastassja was currently with Daishinji in the latter's workshop, the lead researcher having given Daishinji access to the Shenshoujing pendant alongside the prior devices used to help channel its power. The swordsmith had gone to work near immediately, as he had several cutting tools with him. In mere minutes he had managed to precisely hollow out a blank Ride Book.

The next step was taking apart the frame device and mold it into the hollowed out Ride Book, making sure to keep enough intact for the Shenshoujing to be inserted. This was a more harrowing and precise process than hollowing out a Ride Book however. Daishinji had slowed down significantly but continued at a steady pace, wanting to be careful since they only had one shot at freeing their comrades.

"I'll leave you to your work," Nastassja said as she walked off, "Good luck."

"Thank you," Daishinji said without looking away from his work, though his ears picked up that the doors had yet to close despite Nastassja exiting. He let out a low hum as he heard footsteps, "How are you fairing?"

"As alright as I can be considering our situation," Sophia admitted, the worry in her voice clear as she walked over, "Once it's finished, I'll take the Ride Book and-."

"While your swordsmanship is superb, we need someone and something more precise to handle this," Daishinji answered as he continued his work.

"What do you mean?" Sophia asked with a raised brow, though she had already guessed what her friend was alluding to.

"Just leave everything to me," Daishinji answered as he stared intensely at the tools and materials before him while working further, "I can handle it."

"What changed your mind?" Sophia asked as she turned away, a soft smile crossing her lips.

"I suppose I can't just sit in uncertainty if that means the loss of more allies," Daishinji admitted, "I've let the sacrifices of the past bind me down for too long…"

"You're not the only one," Sophia replied, "What we experienced was harsh, but we survived for a reason. We can't allow what happened during the Lunar Reckoning to happen again, whether it's our new allies, or our temporary otherworldly ones."

"That's exactly why I've made my decision," Daishinji replied before letting out a brief chuckle, "Even if it's taking everything I've got at the moment to push through that pain of loss."

"We can never rid ourselves of that pain," Sophia said as she gently drew out Kurayami to stare at it briefly, "But we have to remember that we can't let it control us, even if those reminders end up being extreme at times."

"Considering he's from another world and how he was…" Daishinji trailed, "Extreme is a good way to describe Genjuro Kazanari."

"I suppose fate works in mysterious ways," Sophia replied.

"Do you think he can pull through?" Daishinji asked.

"He's lasted this long as the Buster of his world, hasn't he?" Sophia asked, "But if he's the same man we knew, then strength doesn't matter, he won't let us down."

"I suppose that is true," Daishinji nodded.

"I'll let you focus entirely," Sophia said as she went to holster her Seiken before walking towards the exit, "If you need anything, let me know."

"I will," Daishinji nodded.

Sophia said nothing as she exited the workshop and went to wander around the research center. There was no real destination in mind, not even her room. She figured the other fighters were taking her advice when she had yet to run into them. Of course there was one person she wasn't expecting to run into.

"Oh good," Genjuro said as he came into view and saw Sophia before walking over, "I've returned."

"Did you get it?" Sophia asked.

"I did," Genjuro said as he held up Gekisō Gungnir, "I also have a couple of Ride Books to help Kirika and Shirabe out, but this is the important piece of our plan."

"Good," Sophia said before realizing something, quickly drawing out Jackun to Domamenoki and holding it out, "I forgot to give this back, here."

"Ah right, thanks," Genjuro said as he took the Ride Book from Sophia, "I must admit, you're impressive with that blade."

"Thank you, though I wasn't as good as you'd think when I first started," Sophia said as she turned away and stared at an empty wall, "It took everything Daishinji had to teach me."

"Regardless, you show real skill with it," Genjuro said before giving a light laugh, "Not that I'm a fair judge about that sort of thing."

"I suppose so," Sophia let out a light chuckle, recalling how Genjuro while utilizing Gekido, would fight more with his fists than his Seiken, "But even with your lack of precision… you still persevered."

"I suppose so," Genjuro said before growing more serious, "How did it happen?"

"I'd almost want to call it a cruel twist of fate," Sophia admitted, "The Genjuro of this world was a competent fighter, but the chaos of the Lunar Reckoning was too much for even his strength."

"I can only imagine how badly that must have weighed on you, especially after the Zwei Wing Tragedy," Genjuro said as he stared at the alternate variant of his Co-Commander, "Having to lose two sets of comrades, and within that span of years too…"

"Yes… but we can't let that control us any further," Sophia admitted, "Maybe just your presence was what we needed to realize this."

"Just my presence," Genjuro said before letting out a short chuckle, "I suppose, because you know I'd tell you both that the alternate version of me from this world would never blame you two for what happened."

"Even then, it's comforting to hear coming from you right now," Sophia admitted with a soft smile as she closed her eyes. She then turned as she opened her eyes to stare firmly at Genjuro, holding her gloved hand out, "Let's give it our all, Buster."

"I can't say no to a face like that," Genjuro said as he firmly took Sophia's gloved hand with his own, "Calibur, we will save our allies, I promise."

Several researchers and workers were currently at the damaged wall of the FIS Research Facility. They were currently trying to assess the damage and figure out how much and how long it would be for repairs. That was until several beams of energy were launched out, destroying the wall further and causing the researchers and workers alike to run off in fear.

As the wall crumbled and opened up further, Chimaera marched through the debris alongside his Phantom Megid, Riders, and Wielder.

"We can't have you all recovering too soon," Chimaera said as he observed the research facility, "Especially now that I've taken away your numbers advantage."

An invisible command was given as Maria stepped forward, drawing out her sword and swinging it forward, it extending into its chain-whip formation as it tore through the ground, chunks of debris and rubble being knocked upwards.

Kenzan quickly unleashed a whirlwind from Hayate, the debris lifting up further while being kept in the air while Espada stabbed forward. Lightning bolts were launched from Ikazuchi, the result striking the debris hard enough to launch them towards the facility. The debris began to crash against and damage the exterior, even smashing through the front doors and kicking up smoke.

Saiyuu let out a chuckle as it and Bremen went to take the lead, the duo deciding try their own tactics since they weren't under the automatic command of Chimaera. The ground trembled beneath them in an instant however, halting their advances. It didn't take long until dark slashes crashed against their bodies, forcing them back.

"Looks like you've met the welcoming committee," Chimaera remarked at his allies being forced back, "Just like I figured."

"Like we weren't going to counter," Genjuro spoke up as he and Sophia walked through the smoke.

"So that's what you did with the rest of the stolen Ride Books," Sophia narrowed her eyes at Saiyuu and Bremen, "You will be returning our allies and equipment to us."

"Oh come on, what have you got against us?" Chimaera asked, "Why would you deny us directionless beings a chance to grow further?"

"Your 'becoming more' came at the cost of numerous human lives alongside enslaving several others," Sophia answered, "Not to mention all that you slaughtered when you first merged with the Nephilim."

"Is it really that big of a deal?" Chimaera asked curiously before shaking his head, "Either way… I want to grow more, and I want to give this wonderful feeling to my new allies."

"Sorry to say but we won't be allowing that," Genjuro replied before hearing footsteps rushing from behind.

"Sorry we're late," Serena said as she stopped near the two Riders, Shirabe and Kirika being with her.

"Eh?" Kirika's eyes widened in surprise, "More Phantom Megid?!"

"It's a near even number of fighters now…" Shirabe said as she narrowed her eyes, spotting Maria in the crowd, soon lowering her voice, "Commander…"

"I've got our side of the plan ready," Genjuro said in a low voice, "I need you, Kirika, and Sophia to distract as many of them as you can while Serena and I take charge."

"Leave the Riders to me," Sophia suggested.

"Then we'll tag-team the Phantom Megid, dess," Kirika nodded.

"I should mention that my new friends are a bit more restless than the others since they're not under my control," Chimaera said as it could be seen that both Saiyuu and Bremen were inching forward and getting more jittery as time passed, "Regardless, we have the advantage as we've evened the numbers out and you won't want to hurt your allies too much."

"Don't think you'll have this advantage forever," Genjuro said as he prepared his transformation alongside the others, "Everyone, let's go!"

"Right," Serena nodded, "We're taking back Maria, Amane, and Kyoichiro."

"By all means, go ahead," Chimaera gestured towards the Riders and Wielders to transform.

"~Seilien coffin Airgetlám tron~"

"~Zeios Igalima rizen tron~"

"~Various Shul Shagana tron~"

"Henshin!"

Flashes of white, green, pink, orange, and purple occurred as the five entered their transformed states, the five readying their weapons as their transformations completed.

{SG-i01: Shul Shagana}

{SG-i02: Igalima}

[DOGOUKEN GEKIDO!]

[JAAKU DRAGON!]

"Shirabe, Kirika," Buster said as he drew out the two thunder element Ride Books before tossing them the Wielders way, "Use these where necessary."

"Right," Kirika said as she caught Needle Hedgehog.

"Got it," Shirabe said as she took hold of Tri Cerberus before speeding forward, extending her headgear and forming two massive buzzsaws that lunged forward.

Saiyuu was quick to get in the way, blocking horizontally with its staff as it managed to just barely hold back the attack. Bremen moved just as quick, taking aim with its trumpet gun and firing at Shirabe only for Kirika's scythe to get in the way, blocking the shots.

"Not letting you do that, dess!" Kirika shouted as she closed in to start striking at Bremen who was forced back.

Espada and Kenzan were ready to move forward to assist when suddenly a dark pillar erupted between them. Emerging from the pillar was Calibur who began slashing and striking at the two, forcing them into battle with her.

"Let's get going Serena!" Buster shouted as he leapt up into the air.

"I'll follow your lead!" Serena called out as she leapt alongside the Rider.

"Like it'll be that easy," Chimaera said as he stepped back, "Airgetlam User, attack!"

The eye on Maria's mask shined brightly as she lashed out with her bladed whip, forcing Buster and Serena to defend just as they were landing, the two being forced to land further away from Maria as a result.

"Just wait a little longer Maria!" Serena called out, "We'll rescue you!"

"And that is why you'll lose," Chimaera replied as fire began erupting from the dragon shoulders and spiraling down his arms. He then raised them upwards and formed a ball of fire that began to grow, "Your concern is trying to rescue her when it should be winning with your less than stellar odds."

"Don't underestimate our tenacity," Buster said as he rushed forward while holding Gekido vertically, "You've seen nothing yet!"

"That's right!" Serena shouted as she launched into the air while extending the blade of her shortsword. She then threw it, the weapon launching at high speeds as it suddenly pierced the fireball Chimaera was forming.

{GNOME†TRIAL}

Chimaera gasped out as the fireball erupted and exploded above him, sending him skidding backwards.

Maria meanwhile didn't focus on Serena, simply lashing out with her weapon against Buster who managed to power through and deflect her whip sword. She was forced to recall it back to its standard sword mode, holding both hilt and blade with her hands as she blocked a strike from Buster.

Serena landed and drew out her dagger, pivoting towards Maria to help Buster out. That was until the earth shook beneath her, the ground cracking before hot geysers were unleashed all around her, the Wielder giving a shriek.

"Don't think I'm going to roll over," Chimaera hissed out as he had his right leg forward, having stomped in Serena's direction to initiate the attack.

"Not good," Buster muttered as he managed to force Maria back by pushing his blade further, soon shifting the hilt in his hands and slamming it into the ground. The force of the stab caused Maria to stumble back as a result. He was ready to charge forward when he heard yells from behind, soon glancing back, "We're losing ground…"

Shirabe and Kirika had both been forced back by the Phantom Megid, Saiyuu having shifted its staff enough to extend it and hit Kirika while still defending against Shul Shagana's saws. This resulted in Bremen managing to hit her with several shots which left it free to shoot Shirabe who cried out as her armor released sparks.

"Ah Shirabe-" Kirika was barely able to react as Saiyuu immediately changed targets, using its staff to force her into a stalemate as her scythe was twisted around and forced away from a distance.

Shirabe meanwhile gritted her teeth as she was forced to slide backwards with her wheels, spinning to dodge against a few shots. She soon faced Bremen, quickly twirling her yo-yos in front of her and forming makeshift shields to block against the blasts.

Calibur meanwhile let out a gasp as she was forced to stagger back, Kenzan having unleashed Hayate in its shuriken formation. The Rider of Wind soon unleashed winds from all around, the winds causing Hayate to spin rapidly and move back and forth automatically.

Espada used this to his advantage, closing in from behind before stabbing downwards and unleashing electricity outwards.

"What?" Calibur gasped as she turned only to shriek as sparks flew from her armor, taking a few steps back before falling to her knee, "Not good, I'm just barely keeping pace…"

"Gaze really is a genius," Chimaera admitted as water began to gather in the lion mouth on his chest, a sphere of water forming and condensing itself further. His plan was to take out Serena in a single shot since she was still disoriented from his prior attack, "You can't defeat us in a one on one fight, so you use numbers to overwhelm. So evening those numbers allow us to regain the advantage! Meaning-"

"What if we add one more?"

[JUSO!]

A beam of energy struck Chimaera's water sphere, it bursting outwards upon being pierced through. The evolved anomaly could only gasp out as he staggered back.

"Huh?" Chimaera tried to track where the blast had come from only to see a shining light on the roof of the research facility, "What is that-"

In an instant more energy beams were launched out, striking Saiyuu, Bremen, Kenzan, and Espada. The Riders and Phantom Megid alike were forced back from their opponents, giving some much needed breathing room for Shirabe, Kirika and Calibur.

"That voice," Calibur said with a relieved breath, turning and smiling beneath her mask when she saw Daishinji on the rooftop, "Daishinji!"

"No," Daishinji said with a smirk as he prepared Hanseulnuts to Gretel in his Seiken before shifting it back to its swordboard mode, twirling the sword in front of him briefly before stabbing forward as his transformation took hold, "Henshin!"

[JUUKEN GEKIDAN! ONJUUKEN SUZUNE!]

"The names Slash," the now transformed Rider spoke up as he held his collar as if adjusting it, "Kamen Rider Slash."

"Whoa, so cool," Kirika said with wide eyes.

"Kiri, you know we have our own Slash, right?" Shirabe asked.

"Yeah, but you can't deny how cool that was!" Kirika pointed out.

"You're just in time, Slash," Calibur said as she stood up.

"Oh, guess Gaze wasn't thorough enough," Chimaera noted since he was sure that if Gaze would have taken Slash's transformation Ride Book as well during the infiltration, "But what can another Rider do in this situation?"

"Just watch!" Slash called out as he leapt down from the research center, landing near Calibur and slashing at Espada who blocked. He perked up and quickly stepped back while shifting to the side, raising his blade and blocking a strike from Kenzan with her twin blades.

Espada quickly rushed in and despite the two Riders being greatly skilled in speed… Slash was managing to keep up with them.

"Not bad, not bad at all," Chimaera said as he watched as Slash easily outpaced the two Riders he had in his control, "Perhaps I should consider bringing you into the fold as well."

"Well it would be an appropriate response," Slash admitted as he shifted his weapon to its gunplay mode while swapping Hanselnuts to Gretel with the modified blank book he had.

"What do you mean by that?" Chimaera asked, a bit surprised by Slash's response.

[JUUKEN GEKIDAN!]

Slash batted away a swing from Espada, grasping onto the Rider's wrist while pressing Suzune's barrel against the main Argus Eye of the armor. With a single press of the trigger he unleashed a point blank beam of purple energy that instantly disintegrated the main eye.

Kenzan rushed in as Espada staggered back, the Rider of Wind leaping into the air to bring both her blades down onto Slash. The Rider of Sound had heard her approach however, quickly turning and unleashing another purple beam from Suzune.

The beam struck the main Argus Eye of Kenzan's armor, the Rider giving a gasp as her body fell limp briefly and caused her to slam against the ground.

Both Espada and Kenzan let out lightly pained gasps as the Argus attachments to their armor began to dissolve and fade away, both regaining their sense of self.

"They did it, dess!" Kirika cheered before yelping as she quickly caught a lunge from Saiyuu with her scythe, pushing its staff to the side before spinning and swinging at the Phantom Megid.

"Good, all that's left is Maria," Shirabe said as she leapt up into the air, opening up her headgear and unleashing numerous saws down against Bremen who either shot them away or dodged back to avoid them.

"W-What just…?" Espada grunted as he managed to regain his footing.

"My head's fuzzy… but I feel awful," Kenzan admitted with a shiver, "What even happened?"

"You two were being controlled by the Eye of Argus," Slash explained as both Riders looked over at him before reeling their heads back in shock.

"Whoa," Espada muttered, "Daishinji?"

"When did you decide to become a Rider?" Kenzan asked.

"When I knew I couldn't let my new allies suffer at the hands of our monstrous opponent," Slash answered.

"Thank goodness you two are alright," Calibur said in relief.

"Glad to see we were missed," Kenzan said with a light chuckle as she stood up and began to look around before spotting Maria, "Wait, what happened to her?"

"I think whatever happened to us," Espada admitted with a light grunt.

"Precisely," Slash replied, "We're going to need to free her as well."

"What do we do then?" Kenzan asked.

"We'll do whatever we can," Espada nodded.

"For now let's help out Shirabe and Kirika," Calibur suggested as she glanced back, noticing how Saiyuu and Bremen had continued to fight Kirika and Shirabe after recovering from the shots that Slash had sent their way, "Leave Maria to-"

"What?" Chimaera finally spoke up after standing in stunned silence, "How did you free them from my control?"

"We have some useful Relics at our disposal," Slash said as he removed the modified Blank Ride Book from his Seiken. Inside of the hollowed Ride Book was a metal frame, the Shenshoujing Symphogear Pendant at the center of the frame.

"I see," Chimaera said before leaping up into the air, "But I'm not about to let you take away my last servant!"

"Sorry to say but we're saving Maria!" Serena called out as she leapt after him, swinging towards the evolved anomaly's side.

Chimaera turned and crossed his arms, gasping out as sparks flew. While the damage wasn't as bad as it could be, it was enough to force him out of his leap. He was quick to spin, landing on the ground and quickly jumping back to avoid Seren's sword which stabbed into the ground he was once standing on.

"Alright," Buster said as he turned towards Maria who aimed her blade at him. He went to grip Gekido, pulling it out from the ground and resting it on his shoulder, "Our odds are looking better now."

World of Sympho-Saber:

"It's a good thing I was able to mark its location earlier," Gaze said as he walked through a desert, soon stumbling upon his goal. He stopped at a steep crater that looked to have been burned into the ground if the black scorch marks at the edges were any indication, "I'll get what I need here and then head back, from what faint connection I have to Saiyuu and Bremen, it tells me that Chimaera might need my help."

Upon approaching further the black scorch marks turned a bright blue before forming a wall of blue flames all around the crater.

"Oh, you're rather defensive for what you are," Gaze let out a hum as he brought out his Nehushtan saber before unleashing several rapid slashes against the flames. He had cut up the flames only for them to burn brighter and fill the gaps created, "I see…"

It didn't take long for Gaze to summon his eye drones, slashing rapidly again and causing more gaps in the flames. It didn't take long for the eye drones to start shooting at the edges of where he had made the cuts, creating a brief hole in the fiery wall.

Gaze wasted no time in rushing through the hole, soon steadying himself as he began to slide down the steep crater.

At the center was a black fire, though beneath the black fire was a familiar black covered Ride Book with a gold spine and pages.

"There you are…" Gaze said as he watched the fire grow and start to take shape. He simply snapped his fingers, his eye drones being summoned and launching beams at the base of the black fire, "I'm not about to let you make this difficult for me."

A dragon's roars could be heard growing fainter as the fire began to weaken before dispersing, revealing the Ride Book to be Ultimate Bahamut. The eye drones continued to send their beams against the Ride Book, the roars fully fading out as a blue glow appeared around the Ride Book.

"There we go," Gaze said as he went over and took hold of the Ride Book, looking up and watching as the blue ring of fire that surrounded the crater began to fade. He then looked at the Ride Book in his hand, "I'm sure you will provide me with fascinating data once I find the right use for you."

World of Lunar Reckoning:

Serena winced as she was forced back several of Chimaera's punches, trying to continue keeping her distance only for the amalgamated Phantom Megid to keep closing said distance.

"I must admit you aren't much for offense are you?" Chimaera asked as he let out a wince while backing away, Serena having drawn out another blade and sliced at his palms when he attempted to grab. He shook his hands a bit as they healed up, "At least compared to your sister."

"What, did you think everyone uses the same Gear the same way?" Serena asked back as she continued to back up, realizing now was her chance.

"Well now I know, still learning after all," Chimaera answered before gasping as he was suddenly struck by black metal wiring, it wrapping around his body before hooking into the ground, "What is-?!"

{Hissatsu Dokuha: Tri-Cerberus/Needle Hedgehog!}

Chimaera's head shot up while Serena turned and looked up in surprise. Kirika and Shirabe were mid-air with Kirika raising her scythe upwards.

"Take this, dess!" Kirika shouted as the blade of Igalima shined a bright yellow, dozens upon dozens of spikes erupting from it as she slashed downwards.

Shirabe meanwhile had leapt up higher than Kirika, opening up her headgear and unleashing a multitude of buzzsaws. However the saws began to glow yellow while morphing shape, soon becoming dog heads that opened their maws as they hurtled downwards.

The energy needles struck Chimaera in a near instant, the Phantom Megid letting out a coughing gag as they pierced through various points in his armor and body. He attempted to move and break free of his binds only for the needles to let out electric shocks, causing more damage and keeping him stunned. This was enough for the dog heads to close in, biting down on various portions of Chimaera's body before shining brightly.

{Ride Gear Finish!}

Kirika and Shirabe landed in front of Serena just as the dog heads exploded, the two looking back at their alternate friend.

"Kirika, Shirabe, but I thought…" Serena trailed off before looking back.

Saiyuu and Bremen were being pushed back by the Riders they were facing. Kenzan and Espada were using their speed to outpace and bat away Saiyuu's staff while Bremen's energy blasts were countered by Slash, Calibur closing in once Bremen was opened up.

"They're handling those two for now," Shirabe said, "But we need Maria back if we're really going to turn the tide."

"So let us handle this guy," Kirika said as she held her scythe close, the blade crackling with electricity.

"Exactly, we can keep him occupied for now," Shirabe said as she brought out her yo-yos, the weapons crackling with electricity as well, "So go save Maria."

"Okay that was good, I'll admit that," Chimaera said with a cough as he stepped out of the smoke, a few sparks flying as his body crackled with electricity. His body continued to heal itself as he stepped forward, "But you won't be getting that lucky again."

"Want to bet on it?" Kirika asked as she stepped forward.

"We won't back down, not now," Shirabe agreed as she took a stance.

"Then so be it!" Chimaera called out as he charged forward, managing to dodge a few scythe swings from Kirika before going to grab at Shirabe. To his surprise he was met with Shirabe's yo-yos, electrified weapons managing to get Chimaera to wince and reel his hands back.

"Don't forget about me!" Kirika called out as she managed to close in and swing her scythe, smacking Chimaera right in the face with it.

"I'll leave it in your hands for now," Serena nodded before hurrying towards where Buster and Maria were.

Buster shouted as he swung his blade with both hands, managing to get into a clash with Maria who held her blade with both hands. All of the eyes on her Symphogear began to shine brightly, adding the power of the Eye of Argus in order to allow her to keep up with Genjuro's strength.

"Not bad, so the Eye of Argus can produce this much even if it's not the main eye," Buster complimented before shifting his sword, "However…"

Maria was ready to keep pushing forward when all of the eyes on her began to shift towards the side upon catching movement. She began to turn only to get struck in the face by a boot, Serena's boot specifically.

Serena had charged in and leapt forward, smashing her foot into Maria's face and forcing the corrupted Wielder to stagger.

Buster immediately took advantage, getting Maria's blade caught within the gaps of Gekido, managing to use the Seiken itself to wrestle away and toss aside Maria's blade. This resulted in Maria being disarmed, only able to raise her arms in defense as Serena sent a spinning kick to force her back further.

"Genjuro, sir," Serena said as she landed near Buster.

"Just in time," Buster said as he held out Gekisō Gungnir, "I'll take charge, use my next opening to make your move."

"How exactly does this work?" Serena asked as she took the Ride Book before noticing it was releasing a soft pink glow. Sudden strained grunting could be heard, Serena looking over with Buster to see that Maria's Pendant was beginning to react to Gekisō Gungnir, it shining in tandem, "The Pendant."

Maria's body began to seize up, with her making the first noises she could ever since being corrupted. Despite this, all the eyes on her armor began to light up, shining brightly as an aura began to form around her.

"Aim to get it close enough and initiate the transformation once you're able to," Buster said as he stepped forward before bringing out Ginwan Airgetlám and loading it onto Gekido, "I'll leave it in your hands."

[GINWAN AIRGETLÁM! ITTOU RYODAN!]

White hexagons formed beside Buster's left side, the Rider raised his left fist up before punching against the hexagons. Soon enough the broke apart and began circling around his arm before latching onto and expanding into armor. Soon enough Buster's left arm now had the patterning and armoring for Airgetlam that Maria would normally have.

Maria said nothing as the eyes began letting out screeching noises, the aura soon forming into an energy sphere that was formed in front of Maria. The controlled Wielder held her hands forward before suddenly thrusting her palms and striking the sphere.

The result sent the sphere of energy hurtling towards Buster and Serena, the Rider stepping forward as the gauntlet on his left arm began to shift and grow larger. He then slotted Gekido into the gauntlet, it latching onto the Seiken and holding it in place as he crouched forward. He held his left arm close before letting out a yell and launching forward before swinging his arm outwards.

The result was Buster bouncing the sphere back while slicing into it at the same time. This sent the disrupted energy against the ground and caused a large explosion that obscured Maria's vision and forced her to brace against the force of the detonation.

It didn't take long for four of Airgetlam's knives to launch through the smoke, landing on different sides of Maria. Pink energy erupted from the end of their hilts and formed into pink ropes that lashed out and went to bind Maria in place.

The Argus eyes screeched as Maria let out a few pained grunts as while her pendant continued to shine more brightly.

"Maria, don't worry!" Serena shouted as she hurried through the smoke, Gekisō Gungnir in hand before she shoved the Ride Book's scan port near Maria's active Symphogear pendant, "We're bringing you back to us!"

{Wonder Ride Sync}

As the chime was heard a white buckle manifested over Maria's armor, the eyeball additions to the Airgetlam screeching further.

Chimaera let out a gasp as he quickly braced against Kirika slashing at him with her scythe alongside Shirabe slamming her yo-yos into his arms. He quickly backed away and turned towards the fight with Maria.

"No, what are you doing?" Chimaera questioned as he felt an aching in his chest, likely from the Argus Eye attached to his heart. His connection to Maria was becoming unstable, "What are you doing to my servant?!"

"She's not your servant!" Shirabe sped forward and leapt towards Chimaera while crossing her arms, her skirt becoming sharp and bladed as it spun to try and dig into the Phantom Megid. Chimaera managed to hold her back and even force her away but she had been expecting that as Kirika had come from behind.

"Yeah, she's our friend!" Kirika yelled out as she curved the blade of her scythe a bit further while swinging fairly low. The result was her hooking Chimaera's leg and dragging it to trip him up.

"Okay, working so far," Serena said as she carefully slotted the Ride Book into place, "Now then all that's left is to…"

Maria let out a yell as the eyes screeched further, breaking through the ropes that Serena had bound her with. The result forced Serena back who stared forward with wide eyes, which grew wider when she saw what happened next.

Maria had grasped her mask tightly, cracks starting to form in it as she held out her free hand. It was shaking heavily, as if it wanted to disobey what was about to happen. Heavy breathing was let out from Maria as she reeled her free hand in, pressing down on the activator button for the buckle.

"Hen… Henshin…!"

{Ride Change}

Purple light began erupting from underneath the Eye of Argus modifications, tearing them apart while forming into a spear of light that dangled above Maria. The spear then launched downwards, striking Maria and engulfing her in a pillar of purple light.

Within the light Maria gasped out as the mask was fully broken. Dozens of black and orange hexagons launched out from the open Ride Book and spiraled around her before latching onto her armor. The hexagons soon expanded into their own armor parts, integrating with the already existing Airgetlam. It didn't take long for the light to fade to reveal her new form.

Black armoring with orange accents were now added to her shins, tops of her leggings which were now white, waist and skirt pieces. Coming out from the skirt pieces was a black cape-like coattail with a maroon inside, it representing the cape she used to wear but merely as an accessory this time. Her usual left shoulder pauldron was now missing, as both her shoulders were armored with similar armor to when she first wore Gungnir. The white sleeves she wore faded into black with orange lines running through them. She wore forearm armoring that mixed Airgetlam and Gungnir's gauntlet designs together, being predominantly black with orange as the secondary color while also having silver tips and accents running through them.

Her chest piece gained a more armored appearance, having black as the predominant coloration with an orange center. Finally her headset from Airgetlamn was mostly retained, the main headset and extensions being shrunk and placed at the center of earphones that resembled the ones she wore while wielding Gungnir. She still held the tiara that connected the headphones but now also had the antenna/extension pieces when she wore Gungnir. Tying it all together was a white mask that covered her nose and mouth, a black streak running down the center. The glowing lines that ran along the sides were orange in this case to match the accent color of Gungnir.

{Junpaku Gungnir!}

In an instant Maria had stepped forward, the shock of fully regaining consciousness being a lot for her. She wouldn't have even noticed her new transformation had she not realized she was still wearing a face mask.

"Huh?" Maria questioned as she stared at her hands before she began to look over her body in confusion, "Airgetlam and Gungnir…?"

"They did it!" Kirika cheered as Shirabe nodded with a smile.

"Thank goodness," Calibur breathed a sigh of relief before grunting, turning towards her currently clash with Saiyuu and Bremen. She unleashed a burst of darkness to force both of the Phantom Megid back.

"You can say that again," Slash nodded as he took aim and shot at Saiyuu and Bremen.

"Oh man, that's a pretty cool new form," Espada spoke up.

"Not bad," Kenzan said, "But that just means we can't slack off either."

"Maria, are you alright?" Serena asked as she and Buster hurried over.

"It was a risky maneuver but it looks like it worked," Buster said, "Sorry it took so long."

"I'm just glad I don't have to deal with whatever that whole experience was any longer," Maria admitted as she held a hand towards her head, "Everything went black, but I could feel my body moving on its own and I could faintly hear everyone talking around me…"

"How awful," Serena frowned.

"But… I was able to hear everyone's concern," Maria admitted with a reassuring smile, "And once I heard your words to not worry, I fought as hard as I could."

"Maria…" Serena trailed in surprise, "But…"

"You may not be my Serena, but hearing your voice is comforting and encouraging nonetheless," Maria said as she stepped forward, Buster moving out of her way, "Though while I am relieved… I am extremely frustrated."

"Luckily we have a Phantom Megid all lined up for that," Buster remarked.

"No way…" Chimaera muttered as he managed to pick himself up before turning towards Maria. He shook his head before slamming his fists together in front of the lion head ornament on his chest. The mouth that held the Eye of Argus began to shine brightly as he moved his fists to his sides, "Fine then… I'll simply take you again!"

"Like I'll allow it this time," Maria glared as she clasped her hands together, her gauntlets slipping off her arms and combining together as they formed the base of the Gungnir spear. However multiple silver blades with black edges formed out from the base of the spear, twisting together and creating a black and silver drill, "You won't be going any further, Chimaera!"

"We'll see about that my soon to be servant!" Chimaera yelled out as he unleashed a beam of light from his chest.

Maria reeled her arm holding the new spear back, soon launching forward as the drill began to spin rapidly. She met the beam head on, thrusting her drill spear forward and striking at the beam, energy erupting from her weapon. The result was her keeping her momentum from the launch, dispersing the beam as she closed in.

Chimaera let out a gasp, "What?!"

"Like I said…" Maria trailed off as she swung her weapon while stopping once she was close enough to Chimaera, fully dispersing the beam in the process. She then stepped forward and lunged, the drill of her spear still rapidly spinning as she struck Chimaera straight in the chest. The drill tore through the lion armor and eye housed within, "I'm not allowing you to continue this any further!"

Chimaera yelled out as an explosive burst occurred from enough damage being done, screaming in agony as he was sent skidding backwards from the attack.

"Incredible," Shirabe muttered in awe, "So that's the power of Airgetlam and Gungnir combined?"

"So cool," Kirika said with stars in her eyes.

"We have the advantage again," Buster said as he stepped forward, "Let's keep up the pressure and finish this thing off!"

"Right," Serena said as she went to join her sister.

[IKAZUCHI BATTOU! MITTSUMATA LAMP DO CERBERUS!]

"Alright," Espada let out a short shout as he aimed Ikazuchi forward, "I'm powered up!"

"Perfect, then let's finish these punks off!" Kenzan called out as she switched Hayate into its shuriken formation while initiating her finisher, "Let's try out that advice!"

"Right," Espada said as he tapped both of his Ride Books.

[TRI CERBERUS! LAMP DO ALANGINA!]

Espada held Ikazuchi in both hands, lightning striking it before he pointed it forward, soon thrusting. Electricity sparked and gathered into three connected dog heads that launched outwards.

[SARUTOBI NINJADEN! HAYATE SOKUDOKU GEKI!]

Kenzan was quick however as she was beside Espada, spinning and unleashing a burst of tornado-like air to enhance the electricity and further boost its offensive power. She then held her Seiken close, performing a hand sign as the attack hurtled forward.

Upon the hand sign being finished the tornado that engulfed dog heads split into three, the tornadoes spiraling around as the dog heads bit into and tore through Saiyuu and Bremen. Thanks to the tornados however the dog heads were able to push both together. The constructs soon exploded in a flurry of wind and electricity, slicing through and striking against the Phantom Megid.

[HANSEL NUTS TO GRETEL!]

"Snack Sound Chopper…" Slash was already near the Phantom Megid, the two barely even starting to recover. In a swift motion he slashed in a slightly angled way, a glowing pink slash striking both of the Phantom Megid.

[SUZUNE ONDOKU GEKI!]

The result was now clear, the slash being angled to where he'd strike at the exposed Ride Books, knocking Saiyuu Journey and Bremen no Rock Band away. This caused both of the Phantom Megid to freeze up as their movements grew more stilted, the armaments they had on turning black before shriveling into dust.

"They're all yours Sophia," Slash said as he backed away.

[HISSATSU READ! HISSATSU READ! HISSATSU READ!]

Calibur walked forward, setting Kurayami into the Hissatsu holder as more and more dark energy began to build in the gold blade of darkness. It turned a bright purple coloration as a result of this combination of finishers.

[KURAYAMI IAI!]

Calibur let out a yell while gripping her blade tightly, unleashing several swift strikes against the Phantom Megid. Explosive bursts of purple fire occurred, forcing the Phantom Megid to be pushed around as the dark fire lingered and burned against their bodies.

[KURAYAMI HISSATSU GEKI! SHUUTOKU SANSEN!]

Calibur then raised her blade with both hands, darkness erupting from it as she slammed it downwards. The resulting darkness engulfed the burning Phantom Megid, both screeching out as they ended up dissolving beyond their regenerative capabilities.

[DOKUGO ISSEN!]

Calibur turned away before falling to her knees, stabbing Kurayami into the ground as she breathed heavily. An explosion occurred behind her, the fire from it burning away what was left of the Phantom Megid.

"Are you alright?" Slash asked as he hurried over.

"Yes," Calibur said as she looked over, "I just wanted to put my all into that finisher to keep them from coming back."

"Well it worked," Espada said as he walked over with Kenzan.

"You should rest for now," Kenzan suggested, "Leave that last guy to us and Daishinji."

"Of course," Calibur nodded, "Good luck."

Kenzan nodded as she, Espada, and Slash turned before hurrying towards the remaining fight.

Chimaera gasped out as he dodged and shifted his body against Maria's swings. He had managed to recover from Maria's first assault though he was unable to fully restore his lion chest piece. The best he could do was flat armoring that held no Eye of Argus.

Of course it wasn't just Maria that was fighting, Kirika and Shirabe having joined back in with Buster and Serena joining in not even minutes later. He dodged to avoid Maria's heavy damaging attacks, but that left him open for Kirika and Shirabe to utilize their electrified weapons to stun him. This in turn allowed Buster to deal a heavy blow while Serena helped pile on the damage with her blade.

"Damn it," Chimaera gasped out as he staggered back before managing to step back further, Maria stabbing into the ground with her drill spear.

Maria however held onto the pole while lifting herself up, the drill spinning and causing the pole alongside her body to spin. She let out a yell as she kicked against Chimaera's face several times before letting go just as she came around one last time, performing a drop kick against the evolved Phantom Megid's chest to force it back.

"I will not stand for this!" Chimaera called out as he realized he needed a new plan. He turned only for his body to nearly drop in horror as he saw Kenzan, Espada and Slash hurrying over with no Saiyuu or Bremen in sight, "You're kidding me…"

"This ends today," Slash said.

"You won't go any further," Espada nodded.

"Yeah, we're going to make you pay for controlling us," Kenzan hissed out.

"Technically I was the one who did that to you, I just simply transferred control over to him!"

Beams of energy struck against the ground in front of every combatant, forcing them back as Gaze landed and slashed outwards with his Nehushtan Blade. The blade extended like a whip, managing to force the combatants back further.

"You've come at such a good time," Chimaera admitted with light sarcasm lining his words, "What took you so long?"

"Business," Gaze said, taking notice of the sarcasm before retracting his blade and aiming it at Maria, "That being said, you are the most dangerous foe here."

"Is that so?" Maria asked with a raised brow.

"It is," Gaze said as he stepped forward, his eye drones continuing to launch attacks against the Riders and Wielders to distract them.

"Perfect, time to start using this to my advantage," Chimaera said as he leapt towards Buster to deal with the strongest foe first.

"Commander!" Maria called out as she rushed forward only to get forced back by some energy blasts via Gaze's eye drones. She saw a pink light out of the corner of her eye and turned, batting away a slash from Gaze before swinging her drill spear in retaliation.

"Sorry to say, but I can't allow you to take my ally away from me!" Gaze called out as he blocked Maria's strike. He shouted out as he pushed Maria's spear back, swinging his sword and lashing out as it became a glowing pink whip that forced her back further.

"If you're prepared to fight for his life then be prepared to give yours in return," Maria answered with narrow eyes as she charged forward, easily deflecting Gaze's whip strikes. She rushed forward, the boosters on her back launching her as she retracted the pole of her weapon, the drill shifting and growing smaller as she attached it to her left arm as a gauntlet.

Gaze let out a yelp as he brought his sword close, backpedaling as he went to deflect, block and dodge against Maria's thrusts. Maria didn't let up, using her penchant for hand-to-hand to close in and overwhelm Gaze. The evolved Phantom Megid could only thrust forward, utilizing his Nehushtan sword's whip to try and jam up Maria's spear drill.

"Oh, clever," Maria chuckled before she gave a glare stronger than her last, "However!"

"Huh?" Gaze could feel a sudden series of vibrations, watching as energy erupted from the drill. It disrupted his sword whip's grip on Maria's weapon and allowed the drill the spin freely. He winced as he heard cracks while Maria lashed out with her drill, forcing him to retract the whip into its blade form only to see the Nehushtan Blade cracked, "No way…"

Maria launched her gauntlet off of her hand, the drill growing longer as it regained its pole. The Wielder of both Airgetlam and Gungnir gripped the weapon in her hands. She brandished it as the drill spun, white and orange energy spiraling into it.

Gaze yelped as he quickly recalled his eye drones, having them all unleash blast after blast towards Maria.

Maria simply smirked, noticing the panic setting in as she effortlessly used her spear to block against and deflect the straightforward blasts. Without another word she aimed her drill spear directly at Gaze before launching forward at great speeds.

Gaze gasped as he quickly raised his Nehushtan sword to block using the flat of the blade. Of course the instant Maria's weapon struck Gaze's, the advanced Phantom Megid knew the outcome. There was a sickening crack and in that last second Gaze had let go of his weapon, barely managing to duck and roll as the shattering of the Nehushtan Blade was volatile enough to cause an explosion.

{PAINS†THRUST}

Maria slid out of the explosion, swiping and resting her weapon at her side as she looked back. She narrowed her eyes as she managed to catch a figure in the smoke, "You got lucky…"

"I did indeed," Gaze coughed out as he cleared what smoke he could by waving his arm while walking through to reveal himself, "But I suppose I should cut my losses then."

"Hey!"

"Huh?" Gaze turned towards Chimaera who had managed to force Buster back.

"So we're retreating?" Chimaera asked.

"Sorry to say but I can't exactly leave them to potentially find me after this so I'll need you to distract them a bit longer," Gaze admitted.

"But I thought you wanted me to grow?!" Chimaera questioned.

"And grow you did, you were indeed a fun experiment," Gaze answered as a swirling back vortex appeared behind him as he walked backwards into it, "But I have plenty of experiments and plans left to utilize, so like I said, I'll cut my losses here and see the members of SONG sometime in the future when I have prepared accordingly."

"You damn traitor!" Chimaera yelled out as Gaze vanished within the black vortex, the portal shrinking and vanishing.

"That's not good," Shirabe said.

"Maybe, but it means we only have one opponent now," Buster said as he kept an eye of Chimaera for the amalgamation's next move.

"Fine then," Chimaera growled further as a dark aura began to form around him, "I'll simply utilize the power I suppressed once I gained sentience to deal with you all!"

In an instant Chimaera's form bulked up tremendously, nearly doubling in height as his body bulged in a muscular fashion. His hands grew more claw-like and the lion paw armoring on his legs fused further with them, growing more bestial.

"I'll take the lead here," Maria said as she stepped forward, "Once I make an opening, get ready!"

"Right," Serena said as the others nodded.

Chimaera yelled out as he charged towards Maria, crossing his arms as he planned to slam her away. Maria however smashed her drill spear against the charging Chimaera, the amalgamated Phantom Megid managing to drag her back.

Maria however allowed the drill of her weapon to spin rapidly, the drill grinding against Chimaera's arms being enough to eventually force him out of his charge. She used this to her advantage striking her amalgam opponent in the gut as she let out a yell, managing to lift him up briefly, swinging and tossing him to the ground on the other side of her.

Chimaera growled further as he charged forward again, trying to grab at Maria only for the Duo Relic Wielder to easily bat away the grab. He backed away before flipping forward and landing on all fours, attempting to disrupt Maria by charging forward in an unorthodox way.

"Whoa!" Maria let out a yelp as Chimaera's head crashed against her. Despite this she used the hit to lift herself up, rolling onto Chimaera's back. She managed to quickly stand, unleashing several strikes with her weapon against the beast's back.

Chimaera yelled out as he went to lift up to stand on his two feet, Maria leaping off of him to keep from falling.

"Sorry to say but even with your great strength, you won't win!" Maria called out as she held up her drill spear, the drill spinning rapidly as energy gathered and extend outwards. She swung forward, unleashing a pillar of drill-like energy against Chimaera.

Chimarea turned only to yell out and brace with his arms as the energy crashed down against him.

{DEADLY†PILAR}

Chimaera gasped out as he staggered out from the energy, his body torn up as his bulk began to diminish to help heal it. Of course it could be seen that his regeneration was finally slowing down even with him expending his extra strength to help the healing.

"The regeneration's getting slower again!" Serena called out.

"Then let's start wrapping this up," Kenzan said as she prepared her finisher, switching her Seiken to its single blade mode while holding it in a reverse grip.

"Let's keep up our good streak of combos," Espada remarked as he tapped Kenzan's shoulder while initiating his Driver's finisher.

[SARUTOBI NINJADEN! HAYATE SOKUDOKU GEKI!]

[HISSATSU DOKUHA! CERBERUS! ALANGINA! NISATSU GEKI! T-T-THUNDER!]

The two leapt up at the same time before kicking out with their right legs, electricity arcing off their boots as a whirlwind formed around the two. Both shouted out as they launched forward at high speeds, striking Chimaera in the chest just as he was finished recovering. The amalgam Phantom Megid yelled out as he began to lift his arms to try and grab the two Riders away.

"Like I'll let that… huh?" Chimaera stopped mid-sentence as he stared at a pool of darkness that formed underneath him from the shadow he was casting. He let out a pained gasp as dark energy began to wrap around and bind his legs and waist, "What is this?!"

"You're not getting away!" Calibur called out as she had stabbed Kurayami into the ground, utilizing the darkness and shadow around Chimaera to bind him in place, "Everyone, don't hold back!"

"You heard her!" Kenzan shouted.

"Right, let's do this!" Espada called out.

The two Riders suddenly slammed their left feet against Chimaera, the wind and electricity lashing out in tandem as they then kicked off and flipped away.

"Alright, let's see how you like this!" Kirika had traded her Ride Book with Shirabe, she scanned Tri-Cerberus against her pendant before tossing it upwards. Bringing out a second scythe she combined it with her first to form a halberd, soon catching the Ride Book before loading it onto her Armed Gear, "DESS!"

{Hissatsu Dokuha: Tri-Cerberus!}

"Huh?" Chimaera barely managed to turn his head to see Kirika charging at him from behind with her halberd. He was bracing to take a direct hit to the back only to shudder as electricity sparked and grew from the halberd to form a giant dog's head. The dog's head opened its maw before biting down, Chimaera yelling out as he formed hexagon-styled shields over his arms, holding his arms out and bracing against the clamping jaw to try and push it back.

"Come on!" Kirika called out as she pushed further to try and clamp down on Chimaera.

"Nice try kid, but you'll need to do better than that!" Chimaera laughed out as he managed to hold back the bite despite the pain.

"Then how about we make a better opening," Slash said as he switched Suzune to Gun Play mode, pressing Hansel Nuts to Gretel against the finisher slot and taking aim with both hands, blue and red energy spiraling in the barrel.

[HANSELNUTS TO GRETEL! SUZUNE ONDOKU GEKI!]

A spiraling beam of red and blue shot forward from the Onjuuken Suzune, the beam striking Chimaera directly in the stomach as it began to dig its way through.

Chimaera gagged as he lurched forward, his arms giving out briefly as his shields faded. Just as he realized his mistake he was caught in the maw of the dog head, electricity exploding inwards just as Slash's beam pierced through.

{Ride Gear Finish!}

Kirika yelped as she managed to spin away just to avoid the beam piercing through Chimaera's back, "Safe!"

[GINWAN AIRGETLÁM! DOGON!]

Buster quickly ran towards the damaged Chimaera, initiating his Seiken's finisher with his Ride Gear Book. He holstered Gekido however though the blade itself began to shine a bright white, growing brighter as it continued to charge.

"Take this!" Buster shouted as he reeled back his left arm, white energy erupting from his Airgetlam gauntlet. The energy formed glowing knight-like armor over his left forearm and hand, the Rider curling his fingers into a fist before punching forward embedding his fist into Chimaera's chest.

"Is… is that all you've got?" Chimaera asked with a cough, clearly still trying to show some bravado despite his shaking voice.

"Nope," Buster chuckled as he pulled his left arm back, the energy armoring disappearing as he drew out Gekido, reeling it back before thrusting and striking against the hole he formed with his fist, "This is the complete finisher!"

[GEKIDO RANDOKU GEKI!]

Chimaera gasped out as light exploded from his chest, the explosion enough to break him out of the bonds that Calibur shackled him with. He skidded backwards as he tried to hold his chest only to realize his arms weren't responding correctly. That was when he glanced down, letting out a shudder as he had seen what Buster's attack had done.

The attack had completely torn his chest and stomach wide open, revealing the heart of the Nephilim in his center alongside the attached Eye of Argus. Scattered around the heart and attached to his inner body were Brave Dragon, Lion Senki, and Genbu Shinwa.

"One last push," Shirabe said as she prepared Needle Hedgehog, loading it onto her Armed Gear as she brought out her yo-yos. She began spinning the yo-yos close to each other in a vertical manner, sparks flying as those sparks grew and launched out at high speeds, becoming electrified spikes that struck against the Ride Books and exposed interior of Chimaera.

{Hissatsu Dokuha: Needle Hedgehog! Ride Gear Finish!}

Chimaera could only gurgle at this point, the needles striking and electrifying the Ride Books. This resulted in them piercing through his inner body, tearing out the Ride Books in the process.

"An open target," Maria said as she took the lead with Serena, the two stopping a fair distance from Chimaera as they both eyed the Nephilim Heart/Eye of Argus combo that was now exposed, "Serena…"

"On it," Serena called out as she swung her shortsword, it shifting into a knife formation before she tossed it forward. The knife split into numerous knives that began floating in mid-air, forming ring formations with the hilts facing inwards. They began to glow with energy, flower projections forming over the rings of knives.

{Hissatsu Dokuha}

Maria reeled her right arm backwards, the drill of her spear spinning rapidly as energy gathered and spiraled together. She soon lunged forward, tossing her drill spear towards the line of ring formations.

The drill struck the first ring, energy infusing and launching it forward at a higher speed. It struck the next ring and it happened again, and again, the process repeating in seconds as the spear launched towards Chimaera at high speeds.

{Junpaku Gungnir! Issatsu Geki!}

In an instant the spiraling energy of the drill spear extended outwards and struck against the Nephilim Heart and Argus Eye once the spear was close enough. The energy grinded against the eye, cracks starting to form as the eye screeched out before shattering, the drill piercing through and tearing up the Nephilim Heart in mere seconds.

{UNICORN†DEMOLITION}

An explosive burst occurred as the drill spear hurtled past the torn up Phantom Megid, Chimaera's body turning black and crumbling to dust as it no longer could sustain itself.

"It's over…?" Serena asked as she breathed heavily.

"Yeah, yeah it's over…" Maria said as she began to breathe heavily, letting out a light groan as her duo-relic transformation faded, leaving her in Airgetlam as she stumbled forward. Thankfully she didn't fall as Shirabe and Kirika had quickly rushed over, catching her, "Thank you and sorry about worrying you."

"We're just glad you're back," Shirabe smiled.

"Yeah," Kirika nodded, "So long as you're alright, its fine dess."

"Looks as though you've completed your mission," Calibur said as she walked over to Buster.

"More than likely, especially with Gaze having fled," Buster replied, "And I doubt it was a bluff to stay in this world."

"More than likely," Calibur replied, "What will you do?"

"We'll continue searching to stop whatever experiments he comes up with," Buster answered before looking back at Calibur, "But first, a long earned rest."

A Few Days Later…

While the mission had been successfully completed with Genjuro going to check on Gjallarhorn to confirm, Maria was too worn out to properly travel immediately. This resulted in her alongside Shirabe and Kirika to stay behind in the alternate world for a bit longer with Genjuro deciding to give them all a well earned rest.

"Thank you for everything you've done for us," Nastassja said as she shook Genjuro's hand, the two in a private meeting room alongside Sophia and Daishinji, "And thank you for the information you've given us, we'll try and put what we can to use."

"Of course," Genjuro replied.

"I'm surprised you're so willing to interfere," Daishinji said as he put his hands in his pockets, "Especially considering how big some of these details are."

"Some clarity on future events is honestly welcome," Sophia replied.

"Even then we're not that far ahead from where you are," Genjuro said as he crossed his arms, "Plus I figured you all suffered enough losses for this information to be given out."

"It'll put some balance back," Daishinji agreed, "Especially since we don't know what's lurking around and might emerge."

"That is true," Nastassja nodded, "Again, we appreciate it."

"And I appreciate your generosity in allowing my Wielders to stay here to rest and recuperate," Genjuro replied, "While we will be leaving soon, I'm sure this has been a relieving experience for some of them."

"Thanks a lot for this dess," Kirika said as she looked over the pictures that Kyoichiro had taken of her and her friends.

"Yes, we really appreciate it," Shirabe nodded.

"Just glad I get to expand my picture taking to more than just the scenery," Kyoichiro admitted.

"Honestly if there's one thing I'd suggest is our crew in this universe taking a group photo," Amane remarked as she crossed her arms, "Especially considering our 'new' member."

"Oh you mean because Daishinji is Slash again?" Kyoichiro asked before humming, "That is true…"

"So what's next for you all now?" Kirika asked.

"Training, and potentially dealing with anyone or anything that wants to disturb the world's peace," Amane replied, "Not to mention looking into that whole moon thing you guys mentioned just to be safe."

"It would be best to prioritize a solution to that if the problem's the same," Shirabe nodded.

"Hopefully we can do it, even if we're not the best," Kyoichiro said with a nervous chuckle.

"Don't give up just yet dess," Kirika encouraged, "Besides, you all managed to get Maria's advice down really well!"

"She's right," Shirabe nodded, "Just keep working at it."

"Thanks you two," Kyoichiro said with a soft smile before yelping as he was slapped in the back by Amane, "H-Hey what was that for?!"

"Helping you get out of your funk," Amane smirked before growing more serious, "They're right though, which is why we should schedule a training session soon now that it's been a few days."

"Back to the grind it is then," Kyoichiro smirked.

"I suppose it's nearly time to leave," Maria said as she stared up at the ceiling in her temporary room while sitting on her bed with Serena.

"I suppose so," Serena said before looking over at her alternate sister, "I'm sorry."

"Apologizing again?" Maria asked with a soft smile.

"I just… it must have been horrible to lose her like that, alongside seeing me," Serena said with a small frown, "And that's not counting mom as well."

"It… it was," Maria admitted as she closed her eyes, "Losing both of them wasn't easy, but even if they're not around anymore they'll always be with me as a part of my heart and my song, and I feel that's more than enough."

"I see…" Serena muttered.

"Besides, I need to thank you," Maria replied but quickly spoke up in order to clarify, "But not for helping me free myself."

"Wait, not for that?" Serena asked, "What else did I do to-?"

"Despite how long it's been I'd like to think I'm doing well enough," Maria answered as she opened her eyes and stared down at the ground, clasping her hands together, "I have Kirika, Shirabe, others too alongside the hope of finding another friend one day. They're my family now, and I know I'll be okay with them, but still…"

"Eh, Maria…?" Serena's eyes widened when she noticed how watery Maria's eyes were getting, "Is everything…"

"It's just, she would have been around your age," Maria admitted, her voice shaking as she went to wipe her eyes after a few tears fell, "So it's nice to see that kind of future happened somewhere."

"I don't know what it's like to lose your only family or to build a new one," Serena said as she went to put her arm around the alternate variant of her sister, "But I am still Serena, Maria Cadenzavna Eve is my sister, I'll always care for you no matter the version. I'm just glad you were able to find others to help you. I'm proud of who you've grown to be and I'm sure that she would feel the same way."

"Thank you… thank you…" Maria smiled as she couldn't control her tears any further, quickly embracing Serena and crying on her shoulder.

Serena simply smiled and held Maria as gently as she could, the two alternate universe sisters holding their embrace for what seemed like forever.

World of Sympho-Saber:

Once goodbyes were said, the trio of Maria, Kirika, and Shirabe returned alongside Genjuro with everyone relieved that things had worked out. Thankfully there were no Phantom Megid attacks as of late which meant everyone could go back to routine.

Tsubasa had finally asked for Ogawa's help when it came to Miku's training, and so the two were out for the day. Thankfully because of Tsubasa's public career as an idol, this was easy to help cover up their absence. Miku meanwhile would either use her errands as excuses still or just simply say she was too busy so that she could have her private training session with them specifically.

Especially since when it came to Daishinji's current work…

"I had a feeling this was going to happen," Daishinji sighed.

"Thankfully it was able to hold up for the return trip," Elfnein said as she was at her station in their shared workshop, currently using her tools to repair the Airgetlam Symphogear, "While Gungnir is compatible with Airgetlam the Ride Book is more based on Kanade's and Hibiki's which means there's strain applied to both devices during the transformation."

"How long will repairs take?" Daishinji asked.

"I'm unsure, but Maria will be out of action for a bit," Elfnein said before shaking her head and pumping her fists, "No, I'll make sure she can return to battle in no time! I'll just-"

"Hey now," Daishinji put a hand, gently patting Elfnein's hair, "Don't overwork yourself, you're already doing a lot. Especially with trying to decipher the data Ver left us."

"I know but…" Elfnein trailed.

"We're partners for a reason," Daishinji stressed, "I've been picking up your methodology when it comes to Relics and I think I can take over whenever you get tired."

"Alright," Elfnein nodded before looking over and smiling, "Thank you Daishinji."

"It's what I'm here for," Daishinji smiled back before pulling his hand away and putting it to his chin in thought, "However…"

"What is it?" Elfnein asked.

"We'll need a way to keep this from happening again," Daishinji replied, "Junpaku Gungnir is too valuable of a form for this to keep it from being used."

"Well why not base a Gungnir Ride Book on Maria's variant?" Elfnein asked.

"Do we even have enough to spare from our Gungnir to do that?" Daishinji asked, "I know we utilize whatever scraps are left over from maintenance but…"

"Don't we have that Gungnir that was given to us as a gift?" Elfnein asked curiously.

"Wait…" Daishinji trailed off as the gears in his head were turning, a smirk flashing on his face, "That's perfect!"

"This is concerning…" Yuri said as he sat across from Hibiki, Touma, and Chris at SONG's cafeteria.

"Yeah, the food isn't really as good today as it usually is," Hibiki admitted despite simply taking another bite of a sandwich she had ordered.

"Not that you dummy," Chris sighed before looking over at Yuri, "You're talking about what we were debriefed about right? That Gazer guy or whatever the heck he is?"

"Gaze," Touma corrected, "But I can see why it would be concerning given how he relates to the Phantom Megid."

"If we don't put a stop to him soon, then things could grow more out of hand than they have," Yuri answered.

"Oh right," Hibiki said before frowning, "It's hard to believe that the Phantom Megid could grow that much, but with what they have to do to reach that state…"

"It's horrifying," Touma agreed, "We'll just have to be extra vigilant and fight as hard as we can."

"Right," Hibiki nodded.

"Fight as hard as we can…" Yuri muttered, recalling how while he was useful for freeing humans from Megid, he was best used as a weapon, not a combatant.

"Chris!" Rintaro called out as he interrupted Yuri's thoughts, quickly hurrying into the cafeteria, "There you are!"

"Whoa slow down," Chris said as she looked over while moving back slightly, "What's got you all anxious?"

"Anxious, no," Rintaro shook his head as he looked excited, soon drawing out a Manga of all things, "I have finished the Volumes you gave me. I would like more recommendations."

"Eh?" Chris raised an eyebrow.

"Wait, since when were you into Manga?" Touma questioned.

"Oh, Chris gave me some to occupy myself with while I was ordered to recover," Rintaro explained, "It's honestly incredible, the dialogue, images and framing of which forming an incredible story I could not even think of. I must find more."

"Oh that's good to hear Rintaro," Hibiki smiled as she was glad to see her friend had expanded his hobby of reading into the world of manga.

"I am curious as well of this form of reading, it seems different than the comics I read," Yuri said as he held up the copy Sword X Man he was currently reading, "Chris, I would like recommendations as well."

"S-Seriously…?" Chris looked over in near horror, now having to deal with two Manga nuts, and that wasn't counting whenever Desast would borrow her Manga…

"Nice work out there champ," Kanade said as she followed Maria into the locker room, boxing pads underneath her arms as she was holding onto some bottled water with towels draped over her shoulder, "We're absolutely sure you're a sword wielder?"

"Considering how short it is I figured that I could mix up my fighting style to trip up opponents," Maria said as she went to put away her boxing gloves. She then moved to catch a bottle of water courtesy of Kanade before chugging a bit of it, soon letting out a breath of relief, "Thanks for helping me with my sets today."

"Hey no problem," Kanade replied, "Might as well help out where I can, you know?"

"You say that like you aren't one of our stronger members," Maria smirked after taking a quick swig of water.

"You say that like you aren't one of our strongest members now too," Kanade sniped back with a smirk, "Well aside from your Gear being in repair for the time being."

"I'd like to imagine that was from the Eye of Argus, but hopefully they find a solution," Maria admitted as she let out a hum while going to put away the gloves.

"By the way, you seem pretty peppy recently compared to usual," Kanade mentioned as she noticed how lively Maria was in the most mundane of tasks, "I take it that trip to a Parallel World ended up helping out real nicely?"

"Yes, it was nice to see a world where certain things turned out better," Maria replied.

"Glad to hear that," Kanade said, "If your doubts are pretty much gone then you'll be tearing through the battlefield with ease."

"Less doubts and more confirming something for me," Maria smiled as she went to get her clothes before giving a light yelp as a small picture fell out.

"Oh hey, let me get that," Kanade bent down and picked up the picture before her eyes widened as she stared at it, "Hey…"

"Ah right, I don't really talk about it, but I ended up losing my sister Serena during an accident at the FIS," Maria explained as she glanced over. She was unable to see Kanade's expression however due to the angle, "In that Parallel World, both of us survived. Awkwardness asking about myself aside, it was nice to see how it would be like if Serena grew up."

"Serena, huh…" Kanade muttered as she stared at a photo that was just Maria and the alternate Serena together. Of course she was staring at it long and hard because the alternate Serena's appearance very much matched Reika's. She cleared her throat as she went to hand it back but avoided eye contact, "Here you go."

"Thanks," Maria said before noticing something was wrong with the redhead, "Is everything alright?"

"Just… thinking about my own sister," Kanade lied as she turned away, "That's all."

"Oh, I'm sorry if I brought up any painful memories," Maria apologized.

"Its fine," Kanade reassured as she went to walk off with the realization she had now gained, "Don't worry about it, everything will work out."

"Huh?" Maria raised a brow, wondering what Kanade meant by that.

"Hmm…" Reika hummed as she was currently leaning on a castle balcony, staring out at the night sky and taking in the moon and stars.

"Is everything alright?"

"Huh?" Reika turned to see her brother before smiling, "Everything's fine, I suppose I'm just thinking on what happened earlier today…"

"I take it another failed attempt?" Ryoga asked.

"I tried to single out Kanade but she had a new transformation," Reika explained, "I've already informed Master Logos. He seemed to take the news well."

"Considering he seems pleased no matter what we do, that's not a surprise," Ryoga chuckled as he walked over, "But this doesn't seem like you're mulling over your inability to get Kanade."

"She… she just makes me so angry," Reika admitted with a frown as she clenched her fists, "I know her circumstances weren't the best, but she had no right to claim that Master Logos was using me just because I had amnesia."

"She said that, huh…" Ryoga said with a frown.

"I know, I shouldn't let my emotions get to me," Reika said as she held her fists up in frustration, "But…"

"Don't worry about it," Ryoga said as he put his hands on her shoulders to help her calm down, "You have a right to feel angry, you lost your entire life when you woke up that day. So I've tried my best to fill in that void, but even then, this anger you're feeling, it's justified."

"I see," Reika said as she loosened the grip on her fists, clasping her hands together as she lowered them.

"We can't bottle in our feelings all the time," Ryoga said, "That's why I'm here, to talk about it."

"I appreciate it," Reika smiled before letting out an exhale, "Admittedly I feel better already."

"That's good to hear," Ryoga said as he pulled away, "That being said, I was trying to find you because something's come up."

"Oh?" Reika raised a brow.

"I've found the traitorous Illuminati member," Ryoga said as he gained a more serious expression, "I plan on intercepting him immediately."

"Good," Reika said with a nod, "I'll assist however I can."

Unknown World:

Grey patches of clouds overtook the sky, rain drops slowly but surely trickling down as they began to wet the shrouded city below. This was a world that had a bleak aura to it, a hope that seemed to be dwindling as what would normally light it was not present. While the sun would reveal itself from behind the clouds to dry up the incoming rain, even then there was still uncertainty.

"Gaze's log," Gaze said as he had an umbrella up, the pitter patter of rain starting to strike at the umbrella as he held his recorder in his hand, "Chimaera was a failure in the end, but he did provide an excellent distraction for me to continue gathering supplies for my future experiments. The world SONG resides in is one rich with Rider history, one which I will take advantage of as I've just now found the remnants of a long lost foe. This alongside Ultimate Bahamut should be able to provide me what I need to gain more answers on our existence…"

A low groan was heard as a Phantom Megid lumbered into view, having a similar gold headband with the Eye of Argus that Saiyuu and Bremen had. It crouched outside of the umbrella, squatting with its arms hanging on its legs, allowing the rain to hit it.

"What I plan on doing may just be my last and final attempt," Gaze admitted into the recorder as he stared out into the city, the sound of a Noise Alarm blaring out, "But if I fail… this Phantom Megid will move into place. In what I've learned of Relics and SONG, there is one who will prove dangerous to those who gain great power and try to oppose her. This Phantom Megid will be utilized to take her down completely so that even if I fail, others won't..."

The Phantom Megid perked up towards the sounds of battle, its eyes suddenly turning red as if sensing a strong amount of negativity similar to Ignite's usage.

"...Log End."

To Be Continued…

Author's Note: Looks like Gaze is planning to kick things into high gear if that last monologue of his is any indication. But that's for the future, as this chapter brought us Maria's second exclusive form, Junpaku Gungnir. XDU technically kind of used the concept of Maria combining Gungnir with Airgetlam for an event, but not really. So I decided to base my idea off that concept to make a Duo-Relic styled Ride Gear form given her usage of Gungnir. Of course it looks as though our usual Gungnir Ride Book isn't going to cut it in the future. That said… it's a good thing they've got a spare Gungnir to work with for a new Ride Book.

Admittedly there's not much else to say here, other than it was fun getting to work with a new Parallel World. And of course it helps push a few things forward, what with Kanade's realization near the end there. That said we're at the halfway point folks, thanks for reading and I'll see you all next time.