Reviews:

Caballero lector rojo: Lo tenia pensado la verdad. Que el nuevo matara al viejo. Pero pues Bragi tenia que morir en ese momento si o si y necesitaba a Bragard para ahora. La verdad hubiera sido un dolor de cabeza de escribir. Ambos tienen los mismos poderes, salvo que Bragi tenia el poder de Beelzebub. Nidhogg es el tercero, despues de Surtr. Tiene experiencia y estrategias, pero su mayor virtud es su casi infinita regeneracion. Surtr es mas fuerte en potencia y fuerza bruta, pero perderia contra el aun con su adaptacion ya que Nidhogg se regeneraria infinitamente y Surtr (Yomi) solo sabe usar su alquimia en modo de ataque, por lo que no podria hacer lo mismo que Elfnein. La verdad Hel tiene que ser la penultima, mas que nada por lo sentimental que es su pelea.

Tigracho: Maybe. Maybe not. Not that there are many left anyway, right? Honestly, I was going to do just a Nightmare fight. But then I realized that yeah, there wouldn't be much dialogue, which meant I would have to stretch the fight more than I already did. And honestly, I'm kind of reaching my limit in scripting fights, so I just made him talk shit to make it more dynamic. I'll say he's probably my favorite villain in this story. He was popping off back in GX, everyone loved him. But alas, as Yosuke said, the nightmare comes to an end, and his story ends here.

Honestly, they weren't expecting Bragard to basically have infinite regeneration abilities. They assumed it was similar to Bragi's just with a higher power. Elfnein coming in like that pretty much saved them from dying, as they were losing power fast. Yeah, Raiden is in a rough spot. Lost almost all his siblings and now his girlfriend can't even remember him. She's alive, yes, but she doesn't even remember the boy she loves. He's in a dark spot, but I guess he's been in that spot for a while now ever since the world went to shit. Well, it's between him, Hajime, and Yosuke. And Ryuga I guess. And Odin, can't forget about him. So yeah, you got 5 choices. Feel free to place your bet in the order in which they'll die lol. It's hard to say. Like Carol had SOME knowledge after she wiped her memories. So I'll probably just make Elfnein keep her Alchemy knowledge so everyone is not doomed to use damaged relics/Decks for the final battle. I would say it's both Despia and Yomi's fault. Yeah, Yomi did all that stuff and she helped, but she really could have turned away from that at any point. And she's willing to destroy the whole world for his sake. It's a toxic relationship. He's so important to her existence that I can definitely see Chris bringing him up just to spit her like you said lol. Maria is the adult in that little group. So yeah, she would be more level-headed. She despises what Despia did, but in a way, she understands what it's like to have a fucked up sibling. Terunosuke and Yomi.

Dragstorm rider: Yeah, Bragard stayed a villain until the very end. No tragic end for him I'm afraid. Right, they put an end to the nightmare that's been haunting them for so long. I guess you could say they ended the nightmare by killing Nightmare. Okay, I'll stop. Oh, yes. Just 3 fights to go. We're almost there.

Ryugen: He went from being a prince to being reduced to someone else's toy. Hazuki and Hajime are too busy fighting to pay him any attention. And he once thought he stood in the same place as them. Sad. Right, at least Raiden could help her remember. Or start over. She's alive and well. Sure, she has no memories of him, but he can help her make new memories. Yeah, Hazuki sucks as a commander and leader. His whole plan of action is just to let his people run wild without a plan and just trust their power. Losing Yomi was bad, but losing Wei, his weapon to kill Odin, was terrible. But he's just that confident in himself. That would be cool, honestly. The more he starts losing the more demonic he becomes and Loki takes over again.

Right. Unite Vent is like cooperating with another Advent Beast/Rider. Unite Vent is just combining them forcefully with your monster. It's forced, so it isn't natural. It's a combination born from negative emotions. Hence why it was the main form of the Disaster Riders. Hajime, Yosuke, and Raiden all have deep connections with their current monsters. Except maybe Verde's monster, but he's coming around so Hajime can properly use his powers. You're on the right track. Hajime has not gotten his last beast quite yet.

TheEmeraldMage: I got the concept from FMAB. I love that show and I've been making references from there and I had to get this one in as well just because it works perfectly here. Yeah, their plan was just to kill him and that's it. They didn't think he could keep coming back every time, since they thought he only had a higher reserve of life force than Bragi, not infinite. Once they realized he was pretty much immortal, they were throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what stuck. Had Elfnein not arrived, they would have been pretty much finished. Yeah, Raiden in particular was pissed at Bragard just talking trash about Bragi. He's his...uncle? Since he's dating Elfnein and Elfnein is Bragi's aunt. Something like that. At the very least they're very closed. I see you're starting to become a master at detecting red flags lol. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Tenzalucard123: No more Bragard. After all this time, he has finally paid for his crimes. Just 3 more to go.

BladeBrave04: Yeah, we're halfway there. Almost there.

SoutAmetsuchi: Elfnein saved the day. Without her, Yosuke and Raiden were going to lose since Bragard was immortal with infinite stamina. Thanks to her, they finally put him down and closed a page to that dark part of their life that he created. Just 3 Calamities left to stop Ragnarok.

Lord RI Husbu King: I mean, it hasn't been easy at all. Ever since they lost Bragi and Hamaguchi and almost all of the world is gone. I like what you said. Yeah, Valhalla members are pretty much following Hazuki's path in hopes of finding a better world that he has promised them. While our heroes fight for what's right and to give humanity another chance.

Chapter 163
Duel on a Vanishing Planet - Full of Delusions

"Chris! Move" Maria shouted as Garmr flew past her, wielding a gem sword as she chased after Chris. Both Symphogear had started in the Amalgam forms, and they were already falling behind against the female Calamity Rider. Chris swapped her bow to two blasters, shooting them and propelling herself out of the range of the attack.

"Tch." Garmr clicked her tongue, flying past Chris and turning around to face them as she flew on the street. Maria and Chris leaped from building to building, surrounding her from both sides."Your useless tactics won't do you any good."

Garmr morphed into her beast saber-tooth form, immediately rushing up the building Maria was on at insane speeds, forcing Maria to aim her dragon gauntlet at her and fire a combination of wind and fire. However, Despia used her tail to swat her arm toward the building Chris was on, causing it to be destroyed and Chris to be buried in the rubble.

"Chris!" Maria shouted.

"Sword Vent! Don't take your eyes off of me!" Garmr returned to her Rider form, giving Maria a roundhouse kick on the side and sending her skidding away as a multicolored blade appeared in her hand.

Sword Vent: Crystal Quazard

She swung her sword, detaching the blade and hurling it toward Maria, who created an arc of energy to stop the attack. However, the blade exploded, launching Maria onto another building and breaking through a wall.

'It exploded? Why?!'

"Sapphire!"

Despia followed behind, her sword creating a new blade, this one being blue as her speed accelerated and prevented Maria from being able to see her but she broke the ground beneath her with her fist to avoid being slashed at the last second.

'Her speed increased...Does that mean the color of her blade gives her different buffs?' Maria pondered.

"What's wrong? Aren't you going to sing, Symphogear?"

Maria punched to the side where she was missing an eye, hearing the voice speak from there and assuming Despia was going to abuse her blind spot.

However, Garmr slammed her feet on her chest, sending Maria flying to the bottom of the building."Don't assume I'm going to make dumb mistakes just because I am not experienced in fighting like your friend Hajime."

She hovered above the ground, staring down at the pinkette."I have learned a few things from my brother. One of them is always switching up your strategy."

"Then why don't you check this out!" Chris aimed her gun at Garmr, as a giant version of herself appeared behind her and shot a beam of concentrated energy.

FIREWIND GLINT

Despia simply smacked it away, much to Chris' shock."No way!"

"You'll have to try harder than that if you want to stand a chance against me! Ruby!" Garmr's blade turned red, aiming the tip at Chris and firing a similar attack towards her. Chris immediately swapped her arrow, shooting an arrow toward the middle of the attack and creating a giant reflector, bouncing the attack back.

Double For All De Le Metallica

Garmr clicked her tongue, aiming to use her sword to absorb the attack. However, Maria shot a beam of fire and wind from below, distracting her and causing the attack to hit her dead-on. The pinkette was flung away, but Chris caught her in her arms as they both landed on the streets.

"You okay?" Chris set her down, receiving a nod in response.

"Yeah. But she's tougher than we anticipated." Maria adjusted her eyepatch."One wrong move, and we're history. We have no choice. We can't afford to mess around, Chris."

"Took the words right out of my mouth!"

Suddenly, crystals started to erupt from the ground, creating massive spikes and forcing the girls to leap into the air.

"Welcome, Symphogears...I expect great things from you. Let's see if you can live up to my expectations!" Garmr emerged from one of her crystals, shooting a beam of energy toward Maria. Maria narrowly avoided it, but the attack exploded into several crystals that surrounded them before blasting them with small energy spheres from all directions, creating a cloud of green dust.

"Emerald." Garmr brandished her blade, now turning green. She kept her gaze in the smoke, then noticed two pillars of light emerging from it.

"Divine Armament, Burst!"

Despia shielded her eyes from the intense glow as Maria and Chris flew out of the dust, now entering their new transformations.

True Valkirye Mode - Zolda

True Valkirye Mode - Tiger

Their armors were now silver in color, and each of them sported a particular characteristic based on the Rider power they were using. Chris had two metallic bull horns on the sides of her head alongside medium-sized cannons on her shoulders and two more located on her skirt. Maria had a tiger tail, and tiger claws, and her armor had blue stripes across it.

"Is this X-Drive...? No, it's stronger. So this is the power you used against my brother?" Garmr narrowed her eyes.

Maria opened her mouth to reply, but Chris spoke first."Yeah, that's right. And your poor brother didn't even stand a chance, you know? He talked a big game, just like you. But in the end, he was all talk and no bite. Just like the dog he is."

"Chris?" Maria arched a brow. Chris glanced at her as if telling her to follow along.

"You...No, my brother couldn't have possibly lost. You're just trying to rile me up."

"Okay. Then where is your brother right now?" Chris leaned forward, hands on her hips."Come on, it should be pretty obvious, right?"

"Did...did you-"

"He's alive. We're torturing him back in our base." Chris grinned."And trust me, we are making it extremely painful for him. His laughter became nothing but cries of agony a few hours in. Cries for his sister...you."

'Chris is trying to make her lose her composure...Judging from her reaction, Despia probably doesn't know that the deaths of the Calamities close up the portal, so tricking her would be easy.' Maria pursed her lips.'I know it's probably a bad idea, but if she can get in her head and cause her to have a breakdown, we will have a great advantage-'

"YOU BITCH!" Garmr bellowed, turning into her beast form and dashing toward her. Chris kicked her ground, releasing a current of electricity that stunned her."I'll skewer you!"

Maria flew by and slashed her back, earning a growl of pain from the tiger monster before Chris fired her cannons at her, creating an explosion upon impact.

Several crystals flew in her direction, but Chris used her pistols to shoot them down.

"I'm going to slaughter you for what you did to him! I was so close! So close to breaking my brother out of that curse! Booster Vent!" She yelled as she returned to her Rider form, activating a card.

Booster Vent

4 cylinders appeared behind her back, immediately bursting with flames and boosting her toward Chris and tackling her into a building."You ruined everything! Where is my brother?! Take me to him!"

"Tch! You really think I'm going to tell you anything?!" Chris' guns became two gauntlets similar to Zolda's, punching Garmr on the sides of her head and electricity her while releasing two explosions. Garmr hissed, backing up and allowing Chris to deliver two punches to her chest, launching her away.

Maria frowned, twirling around and slashing Garmr's body as she was flung past her, crashing into the ground.

"Feels familiar, right?" Chris grinned, pointing at her head."Isn't that what Yomi did to your head? Altered the bioelectricity inside, which turned you into a mute."

"Chris." Maria shook her head."Isn't this...going too far?"

"Is it?" Chris shrugged nonchalantly."I think I can still go for more."

"I mean, is this really the right thing to do? Isn't it...too cruel?"

"Cruel?" Chris scoffed."Maria, look around you. Look!"

Maria flinched at her tone, glancing down at the ghost of a city below them.

"They did this. All of this." Chris sneered."They've killed countless humans...destroyed countless cities...The world was turned to shit because of them. They have it coming. Especially this dumb bitch and her piece of shit of a brother! She killed my classmates! All of those innocent students in Lydian! So no, I'm not being anywhere near as brutal as I can be!"

"But..." Maria lowered her tone."She lost her sibling...That's-"

"Not to mention her brother is the one who ruined her life! I-"

"SHUT YOUR GOD DAMN MOUTH!"

Garmr transformed into her beast form, jumping from building to building until she leaped into the air, opening her mouth and firing a volley of energy spheres at the Symphogear.

Maria's left claw turned into a silver gauntlet with 4 claws that detached from the from, becoming daggers and hurling them at her.

Infinite Frozen Crime

"Amethyst! Lapiz Lazuli! And Cobalt!"

Three different gems appeared in the air, and Garmr used them as footing to dodge the daggers while increasing her speed and accelerating toward Maria. However, the daggers were circling back, forcing her to protrude the strips on her body, spinning around and repelling them.

Maria did the same, the blue stripes of her armor protruding out as she ignited her ice thrusters, accelerating at great speeds and forming a tornado of ice, clashing against Despia's rainbow one. Despia growled, shattering Maria's spikes and slashing around her body. Her other claw morphed into a silver canon, immediately shooting at Despia point blank, also harming herself as both girls were flung flying.

Empress Rebellion

"Not bad! You're doing a little better than your weak brother, scum!"

Despia was about to retaliate, but took a missile to the face, sending her crashing out into the highway and landing on the outskirts of Tokyo. Chris laughed uncontrollably, the compartments of her skirt opening up and unleashing several dozen lightning missiles at her foe.

Mega Death Torment

Garmr clicked her tongue, switching back into her Rider form and raising her hand, creating various crystals to block the attacks.

Chris shifted her Armed Gear into a sniper, firing a gamma burst beam into the crystals and creating a giant explosion of colors.

Red Hot Blaze - Oblivion

To her shock, Despia had taken off into the air and was flying away from the city.

"H-hey! Where the fuck are you going, you coward?!" Chris manifested a pair of angelic wings, chasing after her.

"Chris! Wait!" Maria chased after her.'Why is she leading us out of the city all of a sudden? Is she trying to flee after realizing she's at a disadvantage?'

Maria shifted her gaze, looking at the distance and seeing the various fights happening simultaneously."Is she perhaps trying to not be caught in one of her comrade's attacks? We are all pretty close, after all, except for a few. No, that wouldn't make sense. We're already past the Saitama prefecture. If she intended to get away to get some more room, she wouldn't have to still be flying. Wait...could she be the one who is about to unleash a powerful attack?!'

The pinkette grew concerned, speeding up to try and catch up to the other two.'This is bad! Chris is not thinking straight right now! She's walking into a trap!'

Meanwhile, Chris continued to try and shoot Despia down, using Zolda's minigun to try and take her off the sky."Stand still, you bitch!"

"Go to hell! How about you make me?!" Garmr created several crystals around her before shooting a blast of energy from her palm at one of them, causing them to start reflecting on one another and splitting up into several more.

"This is child's play!" Chris screamed, creating two railguns at her disposal and immediately firing omnidirectional beams at the attacks, canceling them out. She shot two more, forcing Garmr to fly around wildly to avoid them. However, she noticed the attacks were homed in on her, and hit her on the back, rocketing her into a train station and sending her rolling far into an open area.

Chris landed on the ground, narrowing her eyes. Next to her, Maria also landed, gritting her teeth.

"Did we stop her?"

"Stop her from what?" Chris arched a brow."I just shot this wordless skank out of the sky. She's got nowhere else to run."

"Actually, you big-breasted bimbo, you didn't do anything." Despia stood up, her armor fixing itself around the broken areas."We're right where I wanted. Welcome to Chichibu-Tama-Kai National Park. This'll be the place where I bury the two of you."

"So she was deliberately taking us to another location." Maria's lips thinned, worried.

"So what? She took us to a forest. What does that matter?" Chris snorted."She's cornered. She knows that she can't beat us."

"Is that so? So you got a little power up, and all of a sudden you're so confident." Garmr dronned, hands on her hips."You should have stayed in the ditch you were hiding. You're fighting for no reason. This disgusting world is done for. And the little people that are left will die soon."

"Including your family?" Maria suddenly said, catching her off guard.

"Huh...?"

"Maria, what the hell are you-"

The older woman held out her hand, silencing Chris."Yes, we know of the people at your circus. We met the ringmaster, Masato Naegi as well as the workers there. They are worried about you. Naegi-san wants you to stop."

Garmr flinched, taking a step back.

"Trust me, if you don't take this chance, you'll regret it. Terunosuke Kuwana...my brother...He never got to see his parents again. And they never got to see their child again. I lost my parents a long time ago, but I know that pain must be horrible."

"Kind of hard to take your words seriously when she's literally pointing a gun at my face." Garmr seethed.

Maria turned to see Chris, and she had her revolver out, aiming it at Despia's face."Chris!"

She pulled the trigger, but to their shock, Garmr caught the bullet with her hands, crushing it."You really shouldn't have told me you have my brother hostage. Much less that you're torturing him. You already tossed away any hope of trying to have a decent conversation with me."

"Good. Talking was never a choice." Chris smirked.

'Damn it, Chris!' Maria cursed in her mind.

"As for my family? It's fine. I already made up my mind a long time ago." Despia opened her hand, releasing the remains of the bullet."We all vowed to go down this path and accept any sacrifices. For a better world, no price is too expensive. I'll see the people at the circus in the next world."

"After you kill them?" Maria furrowed her brow.

"After I purify them!" She corrected."And that will only happen after I massacre the two of you. I'll make you wish you hadn't opened your big mouths!"

"Keep dreaming. Now that we closed the power gap, you're not so threatening. Soon enough, your inexperience will start showing, and we'll take advantage of it. It's a matter of time!" Chris cried out.

"Maybe so. But don't forget, I might be a halfbreed but I am still a Liang, just like Hajime and Hazuki!" Garmr drew a card from her Deck."But I am still no fighter like Hajime or my brother. Nor do I have the insane abilities Hazuki has. But aside from my Alchemy and my God powers, I still have something nice to give me the advantage."

"And what would that-"

"CHRIS! WE HAVE TO TAKE HER DOWN! NOW-"

"TOO LATE! ZONE VENT!"

Zone Vent: Crystal Valley

The card in her hand turned into crystal before shattering, and the environment around them began to change dramatically. The ground turned into lilac-colored crystals, and the trees became red crystals. The entire forest had been crystallized, and one could see the crystal from outer space due to how much space it took.

"Welcome to hell. I'll give you a glimpse of the pain we felt!" Despia stomped the ground, immediately causing the area beneath Chris and Maria to rise, launching them into the air."Time to start this macabre play!"

Several pillars emerged from the ground, heading toward the girls in the sky.

Maria quickly formed a wall with her bladed whip, crushing the crystals in the process. To her surprise, the crystals were still being manipulated, and rained down on them, stabbing into their bodies.

Both girls hissed in pain, using the lightning in their bodies to remove the shards. Maria aimed her left hand, shooting another beam of energy at the ground. Despia chuckled, her body sinking into the crystals and disappearing. The attack hit the ground, leaving a hole behind.

"What?!" Maria gasped in shock."Where did she-"

A giant hand of crystal emerged from the ground, punching both girls to the ground. The arm descended toward them, while the ground beneath them began to rise, taking them closer to the fist.

Chris quickly stood up, switched to her Gatling guns, and unleashed several lightning-infused bullets that destroyed her fist.

"This is bad! We're in her terrain!" Chris yelled, firing more shots at the ground below them. From underneath Maria, Despia emerged, slashing her leg and causing her to scream in pain.

"Oh, no! Maria! You little shit!" Chris went to stomp on the Calamity Rider, but her arm turned into crystal, blocking the attack.

"Cruel Genesis!" Despia's body turned fully crystalized."Garnet!"

Her fist turned crimson red, and she punched Chris in the stomach, causing her to vomit blood as she was sent crashing through several crystallized trees.

Garmr fully emerged from the ground, chuckling under her breath. Maria stood up, creating her frost claws again, but upon taking a step forward, she fell on her knees. Her wounded leg had formed a crystal in the wound.

"Finding it hard to move?" Garmr looked over her shoulder."As long as my Zone Vent is active, by every wound I inflict on you, more crystal will grow on your body, slowing your movements."

Maria shattered the crystal, immediately running to Garmr.

"You can break it if you want, but in my domain, it will continue to grow no matter how many times you try to break it." Garmr jumped down the platform they were on, her feet touching the wall as she skated down to the ground.

Maria followed after her, and as soon as she landed, she began skating on the crystals using ice. Garmr looked over her shoulder, noticing the ice path Maria was leaving behind as she skated after her.'I see. So she can use Tiger's ice powers to that degree, huh?'

Both girls skated around each other, crashing into one another whenever they saw the opportunity.

"Why don't you just leave it alone, Despia?!"

"Leave it alone?! I'll do that the moment you are dead!" Despia dashed toward Maria, trying to sweep her off her feet but the pinkette jumped in the air, avoiding the attack. Maria went for a horizontal kick, which Despia easily blocked with her forearm before skating away."You talk like you have the moral high ground here! But what about your other brother? The one you all killed?"

Maria frowned."Teru-nii...He-"

"Just like the rest of your family, he was a crook. I've heard about Nastassja Sergeyevna Tolstaya. As well as Dr. Ver. All of you were part of a massive experiment, right? Basically becoming lab rats. And now you lost your siblings too, right?"

"What's your point?!" Maria screamed.

"That you're not better than me. So stop looking down on me already!" Despia swung her arm, and behind Maria, several crystal spikes emerged from the ground, ready to skewer her alive.

Maria quickly turned around, swinging her claws and forming spikes of ice, countering Garmr's and freezing them in place.

"What's this?" Garmr's eyes shot wide open.

"You're not the only one who can alter the terrain." Maria looked back at her before stabbing the ground with one of her claws. Garmr gasped as a large avalanche was created, threatening to bury her in the snow as the area around them began to freeze, making it impossible for her to control the terrain around her.

'This...I did not expect something like this!' Garmr morphed into her beast form, rushing at full speed out of the way as the shockwave of the fall of the snow knocked her off her legs, sliding across the ice.

She looked ahead, noticing Maria rapidly approaching her, her left arm going back to being a gauntlet and punching her in her chest, flinging her away as she was forced back to her Rider form, and gasped in pain.

'It hurts! Why does it hurt so much?! What's going on?!'

"Now!" Maria aimed her gauntlet, shooting a large beam of energy toward the Calamity Rider.

Empress Rebellion

"CRUEL GENESIS!" Once more, her body was clad entirely in crystals, absorbing the attack before shooting it back to the ground. Maria was about to dodge but noticed the attack landed several feet away from her.

'Did she miss?'

As if life itself answered her, the beam emerged from behind her, striking her in her back and launching her into the air. Garmr roared as she drove her sword into Maria's stomach. However, the blade did not go through her, as the older woman had grabbed onto it, cutting her palms open as she fought against Garmr's strength, preventing her from going deeper. With a huff, Despia pulled her free arm back, going for a punch, but Maria countered with one of her own as their fists clashed. Despia hissed in pain as her crystallized fist began to crack. She headbutted Maria, breaking her nose with her crystal head, and kicked her to the ground alongside her sword. Garmr began firing several energy spheres toward Maria, creating a huge explosion as her onslaught stopped.

"That should do it." She panted, composing herself once more."Now, one more to go."

With that, she blasted herself away, looking for Chris.

Meanwhile, Chris was flying away, trying to get some distance from the horde of crystal clones of Garmr that were coming after her.

"You're all so damn annoying! Just die already!" She turned her Armed Gear into a longbow, loading up a large missile and firing at the clones.

Artemis Spiral

The missiles collided with one of them, creating a chain reaction of explosions as they started to break together. Unfortunately, more clones were emerging from the ground, replacing the ones destroyed. Several clones aimed their arms at Chris, shooting crystal projectiles toward her, forcing her to pull out her reflectors to protect her blindspots. Several clones lunged into her reflectors before blowing up, causing them to be destroyed and forcing Chris to take a step back. She immediately summoned her crossbows, concentrating her Phonic Gain and shooting 4 arrows in total, which then broke into small projectiles and rained down on the clones.

Giga Zepellin

The clones were shattered into pieces all around Chris until they were nothing but dust on the ground. The lavender-haired girl leaped back a few yards away, trying to catch her breath."I have to hurry up and go back to Maria before more of these things appear."

From behind her, Garmr peered from the ground, leaping into the air and conjuring a shard of crystals in her hand, lunging at Chris. Chris sensed this, and immediately jumped to the side to avoid the attack, rolling on the ground and switching to her SMGs, firing several bullets at her. Garmr did not want to try her luck, so she stomped the ground, casting a wall of crystals to protect herself.

'Their attacks can hurt me...That means they must have that power Hazuki talked about that Hibiki Tachibana and Hajime possessed.' Garmr surmised, clicking her tongue.'No wonder they all came here head first. They had something this cheap up their sleeve.'

"Where is Maria?!" Chris demanded.

"Heh. I see. So this is the power you used to beat my brother." She ignored her question, flying on top of her wall."How cheap. You all banded together to take him out, but separately, you're all just pathetic little kids. Nothing but garbage."

"You better answer bitch before I shoot a hole through your fucking head-"

"I am strong!" Despia began to cackle as a dark aura surrounded her body, pushing Chris back. She began creating a crystal castle around her, standing at the top."The strongest even! So go ahead and come at me with everything you've got because I won't hold back!"

Chris clicked her tongue, switching to her Zolda gauntlets, punching them together in anticipation.

"See me as I am! No longer afraid of anything! That's why we all are who we are! People who never fear anymore!" Garmr began shooting crystals from her hands, forcing Chris to smash them to pieces with her fists and shooting shells of energy at the air with every punch.

Garmr gasped, noticing she wasn't fast enough to dodge the incoming attack, but one of her clones jumped in and took the explosion for her, exploding. She sent more clones toward Chris, swarming them around her. Chris was not deterred, punching the clones into smithereens while keeping an eye on Despia. And sure enough, Despia tried to attack her from behind, attempting to stab her. Chris stepped back, going for a punch to her stomach and cracking her crystal armor, earning a groan of pain. She had little time to protest as Chris smashed her head against the ground, creating a large create.

"It's over!" Chris went in for one final punch, but Garmr turned to her monster form, swatting her away with her tail."Tch! As troublesome as your brother! But you will fall too. And then you'll see him again!"

"I'm going to tear you pieces!" She smashed her tail on the ground, shooting several giant crystals in the air. She leaped into the air, turning back to her Rider form as she splayed her arms, throwing the crystals one at a time, forcing Chris to fly away to evade them.

Chris focused all her Phonic Gain, creating a giant metallic crimson version of Magnugiga, displaying its full arsenal of rockets, guns, missiles, rayguns, and more.

Giga Unleash

"I'm going to need to let it charge up if I want to destroy this whole place apart." Chris switched to her revolvers, flying toward Despia.

"Shoot Vent!" Despia yelled, drawing a card that broke into pieces. Two pairs of revolvers appeared in her hands, and she wasted no time in flying toward Chris, meeting her in the middle.

Shoot Vent: Crystal Blaster

Both girls aimed their guns at each other, however, it was only a feint. Both of them moved out of the way before shooting their guns, their bullets missing them.

"Topaz!" Despia's bullet types changed, turning yellow. The bullets flew past Chris, bouncing around each other and changing their trajectory. The bullets hit Chris' back, earning a scream of pain from the Symphogear only to receive a smack across the face by Garmr's guns. Garmr smirked, aiming her guns at her head, however, Chris spat blood in her helmet, causing her to step back and try to prevent her vision from obscuring. Chris quickly sprouted several cannons from her armor, shooting them in different directions and unleashing beams of energy.

DESTRUCTION SABBATH

The beams shot in all directions, crashing against the clones that were beginning to rise and the constructs that were being created.

"Red Stone!" Garmr changed bullet types, shooting her bullets at the beams that would come toward her, causing them to explode and countering them. The beams continued going after her, forcing Despia to fly higher into the sky as the beams exploded beneath her.

"Now! Magnugiga!" Chris punched the air, and the attack that she had been charging unleashed in its full capacity.

Giga Unleash - Giganto Extermination

Garmr was blinded by the bright light coming from the attack, rushing toward her crystal castle and summoning more clones to intercept them. The clones were destroyed with ease, but this was part of her plan. Absorbing the energy of the attack, Garmr fired it back toward Chris, both attacks colliding.

"Shine bright, Pearl!" Garmr shouted, reflecting more power back.

"I won't lose to the likes of you!" Chris poured in more power. Both attacks canceled each other out, creating a massive explosion that decimated the area around them, leaving a huge crater in the park and destroying the crystals around, reducing Garmr's domain.

Chris was on the ground, knocked out after taking the brunt of the shockwave. Despia's Cruel Genesis armor had shattered, leaving her back in her base Rider form on all fours.

"Damn...How can this be...?" Garmr shakily stood up, breathing hard."I can't believe she outputted more power than my reflection...But still...There is no more she can offer. At long last, this fight is over."

She leveled her gun, aiming at Chris's head.

"So that's it, huh...?" Chris stirred up, flipping on her back."You're going to just go with your instincts...and kill me? For what? If you kill me, you lose the information on how to find your brother-"

"Spare me the joke. I already know he's dead."

"Huh?"

"I...I was in denial. But a few days ago, I saw the portal becoming smaller." Garmr began to explain."I asked Hazuki, but he merely told me to disregard it, as he claimed it was unimportant. And then...you all came here, despite Yomi saying he was gonna kill all of you. He's dead."

"Yeah." Chris finally admitted."Yeah. He's dead."

"I presume you lied to me to get me to become unstable, right?"

"Yeah."

"I see. So then, what happened to my brother?" She demanded, tilting her head."Did you all kill him together?"

Chris said nothing, glaring at Despia.

"Then I'll pry the information from someone else." Garmr placed the barrel of her gun against her forehead."Right after I kill you. One by one, they'll all become a black mark on the floor-"

Out of nowhere, a fist collided with her face, breaking the left side of her helmet and sending her flying away. Garmr crystallized her arm, stabbing it into the ground to stop her momentum.

"Maria!" Chris exclaimed in joy."You're okay!"

"As okay as I can be." Maria placed a hand on her stomach.

Garmr's eyes widened."She...that woman...!"

Maria had frozen the stab wound Garmr had inflicted earlier.

"She froze her wound to prevent herself from losing more blood...! And thanks to the ice, she's stopping the crystallization from affecting her!"

"You should have aimed for the head." Maria muttered before flying toward Garmr."We're settling this now!"

Garmr hissed, shooting crystal bullets at Maria."Now, Topaz!"

Maria conjured several ice daggers around herself, controlling them with her mind and using them to freeze the bullets.

"Ruby! Combust!"

She changed her bullets, shooting at the knives and creating an explosion of red. From the smoke, Maria emerged, going for a kick, which she dodged. However, Maria raised her right leg before bringing it down abruptly, slamming her sole against her face, sending Despia rolling on the ground, her helmet falling off her head.

"I understand how you feel. But your brother...How do you really feel about him? Is it love you feel?"

"Of course it is!"

"Then why did he do that do you?! Why has he treated you like nothing but garbage?!"

"Because...He's not himself! My brother, Yomi, he's inside!" Garmr yelled."He's inside and I almost-"

"Is that really the truth? Because from what I know, your brother and Narfi were the same person. All that happened was that Narfi's essence was inherited by Yomi, giving him his powers. But I talked to your family. Yomi...was always the violent type, wasn't he?"

Despia perked up at that.

"We talked to them. And they told us about Yomi's behavior. It happened when that girl died, right? The acrobat, Nozomi Sudo. Naegi-san told me that the girl adored him. And he was infatuated by her. But she died after being subjected to a girl's worst nightmare, and that's when he truly changed. When Narfi awakened inside of him. But in reality, he didn't change much."

"Liar...Liar..."

"Hajime-chan talked to him. And how Narfi felt lost in life, living constantly in a state of confusion and without a sense of purpose. So he killed, thinking that the small pleasure it brought him would be enough. But make no mistake, your brother and Narfi were in constant pain. The brother you thought you knew changed. And you rejected him, right?"

"I..." Despia shook her head, suppressed memories invading her mind.

"Get out of my brother, you demon!"

"What are you doing?" Yomi asked, sitting on a stool inside the backstage room after performing."The show is over, Despia."

"You know what I'm talking about. You've been clouding my brother's mind ever since Nozomi died!" She pointed at him.

Yomi visibly flinched, his bangs obscuring his eyes."That's in the past, Despia."

"Is that so?" Despia stood in front of him, forcefully grabbing him by the cheeks and making him look at her."Then why did I find a bloody shirt underneath the pile of garbage a week?!"

"You what?" He asked in a low tone.

"I saw you sneaking out at night and hiding it in the dumpster. I waited for you to fall asleep before going out and checking it myself. It was a shirt covered in blood. But it wasn't your blood, was it? It was the Ringmaster's."

"I don't know what you're-"

"I hid that shirt in a particular spot. One where someone would find it. And they died. I've been hiding this information for a few days now, but it's confirmed that that shirt belonged to the Ringmaster. Naegi-san even confirmed it as well. That shirt belonged to the Ringmaster! You killed him!"

"And what's your point?" He narrowed his gaze."What if I did? He had it coming after what he did to her. Don't worry. I didn't kill him. Check it out!"

He pulled back the sleeves of his shirt, revealing blue runes around his arms. Despia gasped once she saw electricity sparking through them."Cool, right? I recently learned I could do this."

"What...is it...?" His sister asked carefully.

"Who can say?" He smirked at her."Perhaps a gift of the Gods? Anyway, I used my gift to...entertain the Ringmaster for a few days. I had him in a secluded area, in an old cabin. It was easy to lure him out. Pig was excited when I mentioned the idea of doing a camping trip with some fans my age I met. Of course, it was a lie. So I torture him. I don't know if he's still alive. I severed his Achille's heels and burnt his hands with a candle. I also forced him to stare at the sun, so his eyes were cooked! Ha! It was amazing! And I got to experiment with some cool things with my power! I can alter a person's bioelectricity, making their bodies do certain things."

"You...You...Where is he...? We can take him to the police and-"

"Surprisingly, rats get very hungry when they go without eating for a while." Yomi suddenly cut off, standing up and staring at himself in the mirror, removing his bow."They eat anything. Whether it's alive or not. I assume there is nothing left but bones. But I'm still unsatisfied. I could have done more. I-"

Suddenly, Despia pushed him against the mirror, causing it to shatter and him to fall to the ground.

"You murderer! What the fuck did you do?!" Despia screamed.

"Despia, he was a rapist. Nozomi-san can rest in peace-"

"You killed another person like it was nothing! And did horrible things to that man! Yes, he was a monster, but we could have gone about this so much better!" Despia was pacing around the room, pulling at her hair."What did you do to my brother?!"

"Despia..."

"You ruined him! You ruined my brother! Give him back to me now! Demon! Monster!" She bellowed, shaking him by the shoulders before throwing him to the ground.

Yomi's head hung low, looking at the ground as Despia slowly turned away from him.

"Nozomi-san would be disgusted...This isn't what she wanted. You ruined her memory."

Before she could reach the door, Yomi slammed her against the wall, turning her around. She saw his eyes glow brightly and a demented smile appear on his face as he grabbed her head. She saw a wheel of lighting appearing behind him, and for a few seconds, she could swear he had a third eye on his forehead.

"A monster, huh? If you want me to be a monster, then I'll be just that! I'll do what I want and I'll show you how it's done!"

Despia could only howl in pain as she felt her brain burn as if it was being fried alive. From that day, she lost the ability to speak.

Garmr's breathing became erratic, holding her head as she sunk to her knees."I...I...!"

"Your brother...was inside all along." Chris spoke up from her position, sitting up."But you left him alone. You turned away from him."

"You were confused and scared. But siblings like that." Maria spoke tenderly."Look, let's stop this fighting, okay? Let us talk. We can figure something out and-"

"LIAR! LIAR!"

Garmr's arms became crystal blades, rushing at Maria and swinging around wildly."LIAR! LIAR! LIAR! HE'S NOT MY BROTHER! HE'S A MONSTER! A DEMON!"

"Just because your brother changes doesn't mean he's still not related to you!" Maria parried her attacks with her claws. At this point, Maria was using her superior combat experience to easily block the attacks. In addition, Despia was going feral, none of her attacks having any thought behind them but to mangle her opponent."I should know. Despite what Terunosuke did...And despite what he became, he was still my brother."

"SHUT UP!"

Chris shot her in the back, sending her skidding on the ground and falling on her face.

"You have to break out of that mentality. Sometimes it's difficult to accept something. For the longest time, I thought Fine loved me. That she truly believed in the world I envisioned. It took forever, but Takeru snapped me out of it. But...the hardest fight was for me to accept it. Especially when I lost the man I loved. To accept this cruel reality. Because this is our world."

"I'M SICK AND TIRED OF HEARING YOU TALK!" Garmr flew away, gaining some distance before conjuring several crystals of all colors upon drawing a card."Final Vent!

Final Vent: Shatterpoint Rainbow

Soon, the area was covered in crystals in all directions.

"It's a similar range to what her Zone Vent was...And we're right in the middle of it." Maria jumped back, standing next to Chris."Something big is coming and we can't escape from it."

"I have a plan. But we have to sync up for it." Chris smiled at the taller woman."You ready to break her delusions?"

"Yeah. Let's end this."

Chris and Maria huddled together Maria conjured more ice, shattering it and creating diamond dust that covered them.

"Trying to hide from me?! It doesn't matter what you do! You are dead! Diamond!" She fired a rainbow sphere from her hands at one of the crystals. The attack began to bounce around, draining the color from the crystals as the sphere grew in size and power. The inner crystals were glowing in a rainbow as the attack continued to bounce from gem to gem until the inner crystals unleashed an omnidirectional beam of colors toward them.

"NOW!"

Chris used the dust of ice to pull out all of her reflectors, positioning them around them. Maria used her ice to conjure ice shards to assist her, using ice and reflectors to bounce the attacks back to the crystals and head where they came from. Despia could only dare in horror as her own attack, magnified, was thrown back at her. She screamed in pain as a huge explosion of colors went off, destroying the entire park around them and whatever remains of her Zone Vent remained.

Once the shockwave subsided, Chris and Maria were lying on the ground, having returned to their regular Symphogear forms.

Ahead of them was Garmr, her armor in tatters and smoke coming off her body. The magician fell to her knees. Maria winced, freezing her wound for a last time to avoid bleeding out. Chris wrapped her arm around her shoulder, helping her walk over to Despia.

"You ready to call it quits?" The Ichaival user asked.

"I know...I've had enough." Despia sighed, forcing a smile."All this time...I've been blindly following Yomi's words...hoping that I could see the brother I loved. But in fact, he was a traumatized victim...One that just happened to have the same essence as the Custodian Narfi. I never cared about Hazuki's new world order. I only wanted my brother back, but...He's gone. And I never even bothered to ask how he felt. Funny...a few days ago, it was our birthday. It was the first day I was without him. And it was the day he died."

"Good. At least you're back to yourself now." Maria smiled."Just like Terunosuke, you just needed a beating to calm down."

"The darkness in her heart was born from the thought of losing her brother. Now that she knows that he was never gone, she managed to beat it." Chris surmised."Or at least, break out of its influence."

"My brother...will you tell me how he died...?"

"Hajime and him had a duel." Chris explained."Hajime defeated him. It was a hard-fought battle. But he came out on top."

"Just him? Did you all jump in?"

"He requested us to stay out of it." Maria chimed in."At first, we had our doubts, but Hajime said it was okay. In the end, I guess he just wanted to talk to someone he could relate to. Someone who understood him, even if only a little. And to have the battle he wanted."

"Heh...Sounds like him...At least he got a good birthday present." She began to tear up a little bit."He had an obsession with Hajime. He always spoke about how thrilled and excited he felt when he fought him. It was...it reminded me of the innocence he used to have as a kid. At least...he died as he wanted. In a fight against a strong opponent, giving it his all."

She took a deep breath."Go on. I'm satisfied. Kill me."

"We're not going to kill you, dumbass." Chris sighed."We're taking you with us."

"But why? If when we die, the portal gets smaller, then you have to kill me." She pointed out."And I caused all of this."

"Maybe so, but killing you...is not ideal for us. We want to try something." Chris elaborated."We believe Miku can purify your bodies using the light of the Shenshoujing combined with the Godslayer power and the power of the Messiah."

"We want to use it to cure Setsuna-chan and Wei-kun. But since you gave up, we can help you too. We can free you from the power of the God inside of you." Maria smiled."That way, you can live. You'll atone for your sins but as a human. That's how humanity does things. Even if we're brought to near extinction. You'll get to see the people at the circus. I'm sure they'll be glad you're safe."

"You heard her. Can you walk?"

"I-Agh!" She screamed, holding her head in pain.

"Despia!" Both girls cried out, helping her up.

"It's still lingering...! It hurts...! The darkness...! It's still in my head! The voices...They're telling me to...to kill...to destroy...!" Despia whined in agony, sweating profusely."I can hold it for now, though...But I don't know for how long..."

"Chris, help her walk. If we go now, we can still save her." Maria said.

"Right. But are you sure you can walk on your own?"

"I should be fine for now. I froze the wound enough until I could get medical assistance." Maria reassured her.

"Okay." Chris nodded, helping Despia up as they started to walk."Come on, at least try to move your feet."

"Why...? Just kill me..." Despia muttered in dejection."I caused all of this...I'm a monster..."

"Maybe, but you are a misguided monster." Maria pointed out."And all of us were misguided at one point. You just never received the help you needed. And this is the result."

"Besides, this is just simple humane treatment." Chris rolled her eyes."Hajime said he and Yomi had a drink together on the moon. I don't know what went on between them, but this is relatively tamed compared to whatever happened up there."

"I see..." Despia managed a weak smile. However, her eyes shot wide open, pushing Chris off of her before howling in pain as a dark aura surrounded her.

"Despia!" Chris cried out.

"I can't...It hurts too much...It hurts so much..." Despia whimpered, falling to her knees."I feel it invading...every inch of my body...of my soul...!"

"Fight it, Despia!" Maria screamed in encouragement."Fight the darkness! Don't let it win!"

"You beat it once! Don't be so lame and lose!" Chris also cheered.

Despia continued to scream in pain as the aura intensified, pushing the girls back."I can't...I can't...I'm in so much pain, I could just die...I can't do it...The voices...the urge to kill, I...I'm sorry..."

The young magician manifested one of her Crystal Blasters, aiming them at the pair of Symphogear.

"Despia...put the gun down..." Maria carefully said."Don't let it win. You can do it."

"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry...I'm sorry..." Despia sobbed, her hand shaking like a leaf. Out of nowhere, she aimed the gun to the side of her head with a smile."I'm sorry."

"WAIT, DON'T-"

The trigger was pulled, and the Calamity Rider fell to the ground, blood pooling around her body. The armor finally broke as her body began disappearing into particles.

The hole in the sky became smaller and several demons were sucked inside.

"Fuck..." Chris clenched her fists in impotence."We could have saved her..."

"I suppose, once that darkness claims your heart...it's nigh impossible to free yourself from it..." Maria lamented."At this rate, I think only Setsuna-chan will be able to be saved. You saw the portal, Chris. More Calamities have died."

"Let's just hope we can at least save her. For Hajime's sake." Chris heaved a long sigh."Anyway, let's not waste any more time and get your wounds checked out. Something tells me that this is still far from over."

As the two girls walked down the ruins of the park, Maria looked at Chris intently."I wanted to ask you. That whole fight, you were relentlessly attacking her and lying about her brother's whereabouts. But then you were willing to help her out near the end. Why?"

"It kind of felt like looking at my old self when I was a jerk." Chris groaned."It was hard to watch. I had to be hard with her. Sometimes you need someone to be blunt with you and forcefully make you understand when you're wrong about something. Otherwise, you'll just continue to screw up more and more."

"Trust me. I know exactly how that feels." Maria chuckled."I've been there and done that."

Mission: Stop Ragnarok
Status: Ongoing

Defeated Calamity Riders: 4
Remaining Calamity Riders: 2