Cards Introduced Last Chapter:
Survive(Chikara): Slimereader11
Advent(Magnugiganto): Slimereader11
Strike Vent(Giganto Blasters): Slimereader11
Shoot Vent(Gigantocannons): Slimereader11
Reviews:
FlameFireZero X: Thanks for letting me know.
Caballero lector rojo: Asi es. Yaa se viene la final. Solo quedan algunas muñecas en pie para que Carol y Bragard entren en escena.
Tenzalucard123: Are you feeling bad for Bragard xd? I mean, kid Bragard has done nothing wrong. But seeing as how he turned out... I have to say it. Adam is probably my favorite antagonist. I like the suit. And the hat is the best. Yup. Thor gave Chao her Mjolnir, so Loki gave Laevatein to Chiaki. Hibiki has Gungnir, so all three Godly relics have been given out.
Tigracho: Glad you liked that plot twist. I had hinted at it a few chapters ago when she would just have a crystal in her mouth, but that could have been anything.
lordri25may2001: Yup, I have some things planned for Adam. You will be happy, trust me. He's my favorite villain, mainly because of his aesthetic. I love the hat. I won't tell you exactly how, but St. Germain is aware and interested in the Messiah or Messiahs. You will find out why when AXZ comes around. I have some things in mind for Prelati and Cagliostro too. But you're close. Hajime and Hibiki's relationship is all over the place right now. In the beginning, they were all lovey dopey, but now they are facing problems regarding their parents. Also, don't think just because Chiaki didn't get the Laevatein, she won't be important in the story. I can't say more than that. Your words don't bother me. I love them too. I sometimes listen to the Symphogear radio videos on youtube even though I don't understand Japanese.
Chapter 64
Lonely No More
The young Prince of Ventara sat in a dark room illuminated by candles, finishing up replicating the Tree of Life depicted in the book Adam had given him with salt.
"And now...blood." He muttered, grimacing upon grabbing the blade off of the ground. But he stopped."This is so scary...Will this even work? And...what if demons start pouring out? Oh, I should have called Zeke here with me. But Adam-dono mentioned those evil Messiahs...if I don't do something, I'll die. And they'll take over our beloved kingdom..."
With a nod, he sliced his palm, wincing but persevering through the pain. He poured blood around the salt drawing before a green mist began emerging from it. He yelped in panic, falling onto his back. If he was honest, he hadn't expected it to work!
The mist took the form of a distorted face with yellow eyes and various horns protruding from its head."You...summoned me. You opened a small gate...to my prison..."
"W-w-who are you...?"
"My name...is Hella. Like you, I am also...defective." The icy womanly voice of the head hissed."I have been imprisoned in this realm...for eons. With my brothers..."
"Oh...is there...anything I can do to-Wait, no! I can't do that! Y-you're a demon, right?! D-did Adam-dono trick me?"
"Adam...I see...that little puppet...You cannot help me yet. But I...can help you..." Hella chuckled."I can sense you are sick. Your blood told me all I needed to know. Do not worry, child. For this gate is but a small hole in reality since it was made in a half-baked manner. Nothing can come in or out. So worry not about devils coming into your home. However, I can help you. You seek...the Qliphoth Tree, do you not? The fruit of it. To cure your illness and gain unbelievable power. Unfortunately, this small gate cannot fully open a portal to it. So I cannot offer you the fruit. However, I can give you...a temporary solution."
A skeletal hand emerged from the mist, touching Bragard as he felt something coming inside of it. Her eyes turned momentarily crimson red before they returned to their normal blue"W-what just...happened?!"
"I gave you some of my... essences. It will help you in the future. You see, you must fulfill the sacred ritual in this book. Completely. And therefore, activate Ragnarok."
"Ragnarok...?"
"The beginning of the end. And yet, the end of all beginning. This will be your weapon to fight off all invaders that threaten your beloved kingdom. To fight...the Messiahs that are after you." Hella smiled."You must perform the ritual...to first acquire the Relic, the Gjallarhorn. And then, you may use it to open a rift to Helheim. Unfortunately, I doubt only one person will be able to open a large portal. However, it should be sufficient for me to come through and deliver the fruit to you."
The mist began to dissipate and Hella said her parting words to the young prince."The offering of blood must be fulfilled. Alchemy will help you with your task. Remember, not only is your kingdom at stake, but the sake of the world. Best of luck, Prince Bragard Hyperion."
With that, the ritual ended, leaving a very startled Bragard in the empty room."Gjallarhorn...and Ragnrok...Will that save...my kingdom...? The world...?"
"So this is it?"
"Yes. This is it."
Hajime and Chao-Xing stood at the entrance of the former Liang compound, now blocked off to the public ever since the incident. To Hajime, it looked like a regular neighborhood, except it was surrounded by a giant wall as far as the eye could see. The neighborhood itself was normal enough. Apart from the various destroyed houses and debris on the street. The houses were decorated with Chinese theme decorations and various signs he couldn't read.
"This looks a little like..."
"Chinatown." She finished for him."You don't have to go around the subject. Where do you think they got the idea from? From us, of course. You should have seen this place at night."
"Well, I couldn't" Hajime lowered his head.
"Right. Sorry for bringing that up." She rubbed her nape."Well, you don't have to worry about the vanishment part now. No one is here to tell you you can't be here."
"It doesn't look that bad." Hajime glanced around as they walked in the middle of the street."I figured that it'd be looking a lot worse. All things considered."
"My Father, Wei, and I cleaned up after the police came and did their half-assed job." She bitterly spat."Bragard left no bodies, so all we had to do is clean the blood off the streets. Fortunately, we were able to close this place to outsiders and can come in and out as we please. But for all intents and purposes, this is a ghost town."
"Hard to imagine people were living here before..." Hajime frowned, imagining how lively things would be if the Liangs were still alive."Doesn't look that much different from my neighborhood..."
"It wasn't, really. As I said, most Liangs didn't dedicate their lives to fighting and that stuff. This area served as a ghetto of sorts, I suppose. A place where we, Chinese descendants, could live in peace and improve our craft. After the disaster...we had to move out. We've been living in that apartment building we first found us in."
"Why? Aren't you like...kind of rich?"
"I wouldn't say rich. But we do have inheritance money." She shrugged."Not a lot. Otherwise, I wouldn't be attending Lydian. But enough to have on the side in case of a rainy day."
"I see. Honestly, I'm not upset about that anymore." Hajime confessed."These few weeks we've been getting to know each other has given me a new perspective on you. I used to dislike you. But now...I kind of like you. Kind of."
"Pftt. I appreciate your kind words, cousin." She said in a derisive tone."By the way, I don't think I ever asked. But why does Bragard call you Boy Wonder? If I'm not mistaken, you said your Father called you that too."
"Oh, that's a funny story." Hajime chuckled, a wistful smile on his face."It was when I was a little kid. About 3 years or something. I remember it was my Mom's birthday and Dad hadn't gotten her a gift yet because Setsuna was just born and money was tight. So he walked around with me, thinking about what to give Mom when he had the brilliant idea of buying a few lottery tickets on the off chance he got something. He scratched all of them, except one. Saying that he was just unlucky, he let me scratch it. And surprise! It was a winning ticket!"
"Really?" Chao-Xing raised her brows."So you won the lottery? How much?"
"About 50,000 yen. In retrospect, it's not much. But Dad managed to buy Mom a cake and treat us to a fancy restaurant later that night. That's why he called me the Boy Wonder. Because he thought I was filled with good graces. Good fortune"
"Maybe it's destiny." She hummed in thought."You are this so-called Messiah, after all. Maybe it has something to do with that."
Eventually, they reached a 4 story temple that had seen better days. They entered it and headed straight for the back.
"This is..." Hajime muttered.
"A temple. My grand-I mean, our grandfather used to live here." She elaborated."We're heading toward a special area in the back where we used to meditate. We'll use it for that. And it's big enough to spar."
Once they reached the said room, Chao-Xing slid the door open, revealing a spacious room that resembled a backyard of sorts. It was covered in grass, flowers, and a few trees. There was a pond with a bridge connecting to the other side where a small pond continuously recycled its water via a waterfall. In the middle of the pond was a piece of land with a small yellow flower.
"It looks...peaceful." Hajime marbled at the sight, taking in his surroundings.
"Thank you. I try to keep it maintained. Well, let's get started. We'll head over for that tree near the pond to begin our training." They walked over the wooden bridge onto the next part of the room."We called this the World of Radiance. It's why you feel different when you enter it. It serves to separate oneself from the world outside so they can concentrate on their meditating and training their Chi."
"So...meditation, huh?" Hajime chuckled sheepishly."Can't say I'm good with that kind of stuff..."
"There are more ways to get stronger than by flexing your muscles, Lingyun." She pointed at her head."The mind is a crucial part to be trained as well. And trust me, you'll need this if you ever want to stand a chance against Bragard. And to never lash out like that again."
Hajime lowered his head, still feeling ashamed after his outburst earlier.
"Listen." She placed a hand on his shoulder."I respect your desire to partake in this fight. But we're fundamentally different. You are fighting to protect those you have. I fight to avenge those I lost." The full-blooded Liang glanced around the room with a small smile."Can you see them, Lingyun? They are here...watching us. Waiting for us to become stronger than we are now."
"Uh...no." Hajime looked around, not finding anyone near them."Can you...see ghosts with your Chi?"
"Not ghosts. Spirits." Her smile dropped slightly. To Hajime, there was no one in the room. But for her, the room was quite crowded. She could see the spirits of her family. Women, men, children, elderly. All of the ones Bragard had killed, stood around them in silence."I must make sure that the murderer who killed them gets what he deserves. This is not justice. This is for the sake of making that monster pay."
"And we will." Hajime nodded along."I'm going to become stronger so I can lend you a hand. You're my cousin. We're family. So the least I can do is back you up. Besides, that guy is after me. And if I want to right my Dad's wrongs, then beating him is the first step. So...how do we begin?"
"First, let's sit on the ground." She sat on the grass underneath the tree, crossing her legs and Hajime mimicked her."Now...you will need to clear your mind. Focus on emptying it first. Get rid of all thoughts, worries, and concerns you may have."
"Okay..." Hajime closed his eyes, mimicking his cousin's movements. He tried to empty his mind, but for some reason, he was unable to. Thoughts continued to pour down his mind, minuscule as they seemed. But they were there.
"Focus on your breathing." She guided him."You're half Liang and a prodigy fighter, so don't worry if your mind starts to wander. It'll take some time but you'll get it down."
"Okay..." Hajime inhaled, focusing on his breathing and nothing else. He exhaled, repeating his notion a few times in a successful manner.
"Now, focus on the sounds of the waterfall. Let it become the loop in your head and engrain its sound into your brain. This will help you later on if you decide to continue meditating on your own time. Hmmm?"
Chao-Xing opened her eyes, taking out her phone after it vibrated in her pocket.
"Trouble?" Hajime asked.
"No. Just something I have to do." She narrowed her eyes at him."And you're not concentrating enough if the vibrations of a phone got your attention. I'll be back in a few hours, so in the meantime, continue practicing. Feel free to take a break whenever but do so in a proactive way. No calls or texts. Put your phone in silence. Don't worry. I'll handle everything on the outside. I already got permission from Commander Kazanari, so if the Autoscorers attack, he will not contact you. Unless, of course, absolutely necessary."
"Oh...okay...By the way, are there really...ghosts here...? What if I have to use the bathroom?"
"Down the hall, take a right. Also, stop being such a wuss. Grow up."
"Did you have fun running around and playing hide and seek, Damian?" Zeke approached his former peer, eyeing his surroundings with disgust."Ugh. Such a rundown place. I can't believe humans live in this disgusting place."
"Still, many people call it home." Damian retorted."Good people, whom I can't stand by and watch you destroy."
"Really now? So does that mean you're truly deserting?" Zeke scoffed, his lips curving upward upon seeing Garie's bow around his forehead."You talked about wanting to be human and now you think you are one. Look at you, crying over Garie. How cute."
"Garie was my wife. Your friend." Damian scowled."All of us were human at one point in our past. Now we're dolls."
"So you finally accepted that fact?"
"I did. We're Autoscorers." Damian glanced down at his pale hand."But we were created using memories from our former selves before. Those memories...my time spent with Garie and my son. Those aren't fake."
"And now you want to rebel. And for what?" Zeke huffed, hands on his hips."You dare believe you can stand up against the great Lord Bragard?"
"Zeke, Bragard is just using you." Damian sighed in exasperation."He's using all of us! He's the reason why we all died to begin with. He sacrificed our lives...the whole kingdom, to make that fucking Lapis. He's playing us and we're heading straight to our second demise if we don't stop it. We have to-"
"I always disliked that self-righteous attitude of yours." Zeke sneered."You have a funny sense of showing loyalty. Biting the hand that feeds you? You should be grateful the Prince even allowed you to escape. To allow you to live and give you a purpose."
"I'm grateful for all he's done for me. But...After treating Garie like a disposable toy...I can't. I can't look at him the same way again. He'll do the same to all of you! This isn't a purpose...we're forced to work for him and Carol and expect to fulfill a duty that will get us killed!"
"I don't see why you're so upset." Zeke chuckled, despite Damian's outburst."You always talked about how you wanted to be a human and all. But humans are weak. They're destroying themselves. We should be grateful that we have a purpose in life. So humans go through their whole lives without ever finding a purpose. A reason to live. They just live because they're too scared to die. But we're different. We have a clear purpose and a clear objective. We don't have to question ourselves to determine our place in this world. All we have to do is obey, like good tolls."
"So you're okay with just being a mindless toll?" Damian furrowed his brow, feeling crestfallen upon hearing those words."Phara will die too. Micha will die too."
"As long as they fulfill their mission, it's fine." Zeke smiled sinisterly."And speaking of that, I came here to fulfill mine. Destroy you."
"I can't convince you after all..." A disheartened Damian lowered his head, reaching for his Deck."Then I'll just have to force you to listen. I'll make you see that once he doesn't deem you useful, he'll just discard you like trash."
"I'm sick and tired of hearing you slander the most holy, Lord Bragard!" Zeke took out his Deck, both of their V Buckles manifesting around their waist.
"Henshin!"
Due to the nature of their Decks, their transformation sequence remained the same. And in a flash of light, Verde and Abyss were ready to fight. Verde made the first move, drawing a card from his Deck and inserting it into his visor.
Zone Vent: Green Zone
Suddenly, trees began emerging from the streets and even inside houses, causing the people around to start panicking.
"Zeke, you bastard!" Abyss shouted as he was raised in the air by a tree root. The shark-themed Rider drew a card, opening up his visor and inserting it.
Zone Vent: Flood Zone
Water began covering the streets, but Damian managed to keep it to a minimum so people wouldn't drown outright."Seek refuge! Stay above ground level!"
"Worried about these humans?" Verde leaped from tree to tree, closing in on Abyss."How pathetic!"
He kicked the water Autoscorer in the face, knocking him off the branch. Abyss aimed his visor, spewing water blades at Verde, who easily dodged by maneuvering around the trees with ease. He used a tree trunk as footing and launched himself against his former comrade, headbutting him in the stomach and launching him against a branch, knocking the air out of him.
"What's wrong, Damian?! Can't keep up?!"
Strike Vent: Bio-Snatcher
Using his gauntlet, Verde spewed acid at Abyss, who narrowly moved out of the way. However, he wasn't fast enough to avoid getting his arm melted down by some of it. The former knight grimaced, regenerating his wound.
"So slow!" Verde grappled onto a tree branch and dived to kick Abyss again, throwing him off into another branch. This time, Abyss retaliated, drawing a card from his Deck.
Shoot Vent: Abyssturret
Abyss planted a turret onto the branch based on Abysshammer's body, leveling it at Verde and pulling the trigger.
Verde moved in a blur, maneuvering around the trees with such agility, none of the bullets were even close to hitting him. He conjured two magic circles, swinging his arms and unleashing two slashes of wind, cutting the branch and the turret, prompting Abyss to free fall to the water. He quickly used a card, watching as more acid headed his way.
Trick Vent: Hydro Flow
Abyss turned his body into water, causing the acid to phase right through him and landed inside the water. Verde clicked his tongue, observing from afar with a sneer.
In effect, Abyss shot up various sharks made of water, forcing Zeke to leap around to avoid them."So, you want to play a little game, huh? Very well then!"
Shoot Vent: Bio-Crossbow
A green and black crossbow equipped itself to Verde's right arm.
"That's..." Abyss' eyes widened.
"And that's not all." He waved a card around before activating it.
Clear Vent
Verde jumped off the branch, turning invisible and away from sight. Abyss drew a card from his Deck on instinct, knowing what was going to come.
Sword Vent: Abyss Sabers
As he grabbed his swords, the first arrow came his way from down below, forcing him to parry it with his blades. He prepared for the next one, scanning his surroundings, until he felt something prick his hand. He examined his hand, realizing the arrow he had blocked had just pierced through him. Hissing in pain, he grabbed the arrow and threw it away, healing the damage. However, his hand began to burn again, and he was forced to chop it off entirely.
"Hahahaha! Curious how the arrow came back after you dodged it?!" Verde asked, jumping from tree to tree, invisible, and shooting arrows from afar. Abyss jumped into the water, narrowingly missing the projectiles."I am a master of wind Alchemy, after all! I can change the trajectory of my arrows! And since they're coated in acid, even if you regenerate, unless you take off the whole limp it will continue doing burn damage! Unless, of course, you kill me. But let's be honest. THAT'S JUST NOT HAPPENING!"
Abyss landed at the bottom of the water, touching the streets and desperately thinking of a strategy.
'My water levels are too short. Why? I'm sure I poured more water into my Zone Vent.' Abyss pondered. In effect, the water still was short in compared to the large trees.'Wait...the trees...They're absorbing my water. No wonder they're bigger than usual. I have to get rid of them no-'
Another arrow pierced through him, this time his head, and felt immediate pain of the acid doing its job. He drew upon his Final Vent, using his Alchemy to part the seas.
"Look at Moses, over here." Verde hung upside down from a branch, chuckling as his invisibility ran out."So what do you got now?"
Final Vent: Abyss Dive
Abysshammer and Abysslasher appeared in front of Abyss before combining into one, forming Abyssodon before it dived into the water, its sword nose unfolding as it swam around, cutting at the tree trunks while bombarding them with its cannons.
"What the hell?!" Verde slipped from his spot, forced to conjure magic circles around his feet to form to small tornados to help him stay afloat. Abyssodon continued to wreak havoc, shooting and slashing the trees around him to clear the area as much as possible. However, much to Damian's horror, the trees began to regrow.
"W-what?!"
"See?! I can input my energy into my Zone Vent even more efficiently than before." Verde laughed uncontrollably."Destroy them all you want! I can just regenerate them endlessly! I told you, Damian! I'm the strongest knight! Lord Bragard's favorite knight! The Divine Weapon! And you..."
Verde clad his next arrow with wind, making it larger and stronger before releasing it. The arrow went cleanly through Damian's chest and due to the wind slashing inside of him, the wound was made larger, taking killing him a few times.
'F-fuck!' Damian winced, starting to regenerate from his wound. Before he knew it, Verde was in front of him, clasping his arms together and causing a giant typhoon, clearing all the water with nothing but his wind Alchemy. Once the water was cleared up, Abyss was left heaving for air like a fish out of the water as Verde towered over him.
"Pathetic, Damian. Pathetic." He clicked his tongue, shaking his head in disappointment."Garie would be so sad to see you like this."
"Shut..up..." Damian choked a sob, distraught at the whole ordeal."We're friends, Zeke... why don't you see we're just being used...? Once you're not useful, you'll be disposed of...Just like Garie..."
"Let's pretend for a second that you are right." Zeke folded his arms."What does that change? Even IF we were humans at one point, we're not humans now. We're a superior species. Doesn't matter what we were. Nothing changes. The only thing that matters is that Lady Carol and Lord Bragard see their dreams fulfilled. Even if we all have to be stepping stones for that. There is no greater honor."
"Is there really...no way to save you...?" Damian lowered his head, tears threatening to fall down his cheeks."Are we just going to die again...?"
"Yes. But you're dying first." Zeke aimed his crossbow at Damian's head."See, this is the difference between us. Had you remained loyal, you'd be as strong as I am. Even if by very unlikely means, I run out of lives, I can still use my God-given powers to sacrifice an alternate version of me from a parallel universe to cancel the damage. I am immortal. I am invincible!"
Unbeknownst to Zeke, Damian had his hand behind him, his fingertips coated in water."And what...? Pretend everything is fine? Let him shit on my head and say thank you? You have no free will. You always wanted to get ahead of me, no matter the means."
"Maybe so." Zeke raised a brow at that."But the results speak for themselves. I was rightfully to be Lord Bragard's most faithful knight. You were just in the way."
"Right...Sorry. I didn't know you felt that way about me...I'm also sorry for this!" Abyss mimicked Garie, freezing his fingertips to create sharp ice claws and slashing through Verde's visor and slash his eyes. The chameleon-themed Rider screamed in agony, tossing his helmet and trying to remove the ice off his eyes. Once he did so, he regenerated his eyeballs, seething in fury. But to his surprise, Damian was long gone.
"DAMIAN..." He growled, unleashing a powerful aura of his raw power."DAMIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN"
"Saila Laevatein zeli Tron..."
(Play Aishiete Aishiete Aishiete - Cover Miori Celesta) (The cover is awesome. Never found the original and out of all the covers, this one is the best I could find)
A flash of light covered Chiaki as she began to sing in a sinister tone. The light broke into pieces like a mirror, and once the light dissipated, she was clad in her Symphogear outfit. She wore a white leotard underneath a light vest, long white gaps, and long boots shoes. A utility belt with two empty cubes, a long white cape, and detached sleeves on each of her arms. Additionally, there were small mirrors all around her body. To top off her appearance, she wore a bride veil around her head and a headset.
"S-she's a Symphogear-desu?!" Kirika cried in disbelief.
"You're telling me...this psychotic bitch is one of us...?" Chao-Xing sneered.
Chiaki continued singing, clapping her hands and materializing a pair of giant crystal scissors which she wielded with two hands. She ignited her boosters on her back, flying toward Chao-Xing, and thrust her scissors. The oriental girl grabbed the scissors, twirling in circles before throwing her enemy away. She rose her hands, aiming at the serial killer as lightning crackled between her hands, shooting a bird made of lightning.
Victory Bird
Chiaki cackled in delight, focusing her Phonic Gain on her Armed Gear, making it grow bigger before she began to sip the air, creating energy scissors.
Anula of Anuradhapura
The energy scissors easily cut away the thunderbird, forcing Chao-Xing to cover her gauntlets with electricity and try punching them away. However, she soon found herself overwhelmed, feeling the scissors graze her body and cutting her skin.
She covered her body in lightning, making an armor of lightning that helped her block the attacks.
Cruel Rebellious
She focused the lightning around her, firing countless thunderbolts at the evil Symphogear, who simply detached another mirror and shattered it, creating a mirror behind her and entering it.
"What the-?"
From above, she noticed a second mirror being created and letting Chiaki out. She smashed the mirror to pieces and with a swipe of her hand, fired the mirror shards at her at great speeds.
Bloody Mary
She clicked her tongue, jumping around to avoid the countless mirror shards coming her way. She noticed they were strong enough to easily tear apart vehicles and buildings with ease. And she felt it too when some of them pierced to left hand."Goddamnit! I've had enough of this!"
Crackling more electricity throughout her body, she clapped her hands together, summoning a dozen lighting arrows around her."Thunder and lightning!"
Dishonest Conquer
The lightning arrows were shot into the air, but Chiaki didn't seem bothered by it. Instead, she broke another mirror, creating several mirrors around her and absorbing the attacks, bouncing them from mirror to mirror until they were shot at Chao-Xing.
H. H. Holmes
The attacks were fired back, and faster than before. Chao-Xing quickly embedded her feet in thunder to enhance her speed, barely dodging her own attacks.
To her surprise, Chiaki emerged from the mirror of a store in front of her, charging at her with her scissors. Chao-Xing grunted, blocking the giant weapon with her gauntlets.
"I have to admit, you're not remarkable as a fighter. But you make for a good trickster!" She snarled, trying to electrocute Chiaki to no avail."What?!"
"Glass isn't a good conductor of electricity." Chiaki giggled, speaking for the first time since transforming."My power revolves around mirrors. Or more specifically, glass itself. I can do anything as long as I have a reflection to work with. Like so~!"
From a car window behind them, a shard of glass was shot toward Chao-Xing, impaling the back of her thigh and causing her to cry in pain. Chiaki grinned manically, kneeing her in the stomach and sending her skidding away. She split her scissors in two, forming to twin blades in her hands.
"Just die already. This is for the betterment of the world, after all. If I kill all of you now, it will make things easier for Ragnarok to start. A new and happy world awaits us all! Where we can be eternal! Forever!"
Tired of her insane rant, Chao-Xing smashed the ground, unleashing electricity into it that covered the area around them. Chiaki screamed in pain, feeling the shock of the potent electric shock coursing through her body.
1000 Volt Crusade
She then clasped her hands together, creating a thunderbolt in her hand, and lunged at Chaiki before he could recuperate, smashing it against her stomach. The attack sent her flying into a car windshield, breaking it entirely.
"Yeah, your power is glass, alright." Chao-Xing spat at the ground."No wonder you're a glass cannon. You're fragile as all hell."
"Chief! We've got Alca Noise and Mirror Monsters in the middle of the city!" Aoi alerted the commander, bringing up the live feed of Micha fighting Kirika and Shirabe."Raiden and Andreas are inside the Mirror World right now!"
"Sir! We've also detected the presence of a new Relic!" Sakuya typed on his console, displaying the fight between Chiaki and Chao-Xing fighting.
"A new relic?!" Genjuro stood from his chair, bewildered.
"It can't be..." Tobias muttered, his left eye turning silver as he switched places with Thor."That's the Laevatein!"
"The Laevatein?" Genjuro repeated.
"It's Loki's weapon." The God of thunder grimaced."I suppose we shouldn't be surprised. I did give Chao-Xing the Mjolnir Relic. So it stands to reason Loki could do the same."
"So Chiaki Nakahara is not only a Kamen Rider, but also a Symphogear..." Genjuro frowned."We're sending reinforcement-"
Just then, the ship shook violently."What was that?!"
"S-sir! You might want to see this!" Sakuya yelped, putting on screen the face of a giant behemoth grabbing onto the ship.
"What in the world is that?!" Genjuro cried in bewilderment.
"That's Lulu!" Elfnein gasped."That's Leiur's little sister!"
"We can't send none of our Riders out. The ones on board are not well equipped to fight underwater." Genjuro gritted his teeth. They had no choice but to wait for their members outside to do their best until they could deal with this predicament.
"Kiri-chan! We have to help Chao-Xing-san!" Shirabe grunted, skating around to dodge Micha's spears.
"I think we're the ones that need help-desu!" Kirika cried, twirling her scythe to block the spears.
Alpha Style: 100 Saṃsāra
Shirabe unfolded her armored twin tails, unleashing hundreds of small buzzsaws at Micha.
"Hey! That's pretty good!" Micha giggled, copying Kirika and twirling her spear to block Shirabe's attack."Now it's my turn!"
Micha aimed with her claws, firing multiple spears at Shirabe and Kirika, forcing them to separate."I choose you!"
Shirabe gasped, quickly twirling around at high speeds and using the skirt of her armor as a sawblade to block Micha's spear.
Delta Style: Charming Axel Killer
Micha simply used her pigtails' propulsors and overpowered Shirabe, sending her crashing against a light post.
"Shirabe!" Kirika yelled, growling at the Autoscorer."You'll pay for that-desu!"
"I'm shaking in my boots!" Micha taunted, sidestepping to avoid the little reaper. She continued to weave around her scythe until she grew bored and kicked her away.
"Come on, is that all you got?" Micha sighed in utter disappointment."Your friend is in danger. My new friend over there is pretty strong with her Gear, you know? I don't know if she can hold back once she sees blood."
"If you're trying to distract us, you'll have to try harder than that!" Kirika challenged, focusing her energy on her scythe to generate two extra blades, which she hurled as boomerangs.
Kll Juliet
"Oho!" Micha used her propulsors to take off into the air, dodging the attacks.
"Chao-Xing-san is much more capable than you think!" Shirabe declared, throwing my buzzsaws at Micha."Just like we are! Don't look down on us!"
"Really? So why haven't the 3 of you used that black armor thing?' Micha tilted her head, flicking her wrist and shooting various large spears at them, prompting them to dodge them with difficulty."Even if you work together, you don't stand a chance. I wouldn't count on your little brothers coming out just yet. I made sure to send powerful Mirror Monsters their way. By the time they're out, you'll be dead!"
"Kiri-chan...we have no choice." Shirabe turned to her sister."We have to use the Ignite Module."
"But...can we?" Kirika pondered."I mean, she has a point. We haven't been able to use it yet, unlike the others."
"All the more reason to try and do it." Shirabe insisted with a stern expression."People around us keep doing their best, but we have nothing to show for our work. We have to do this, otherwise, we'll lose."
"I know that-desu!" Kirika yelled."B-but...what if we go berserk? We'll be useless and might hurt innocent people..."
"The others are believing in us." Shirabe grabbed Kirika's hand."It's not just us 6 anymore. Now we have more people to call family. People who get angry at us because they care about us. Mom left this world to save us. We still have a lot left to fix the mess Teru-nii left behind. For everything he's done. So we can't fall here. We have to answer to meet their expectations and push past our limits."
"Right..." Kirika slowly nodded, feeling her confidence return."Chao-Xing-san would get mad if she had to save us again, right? So...let's do it. Together-desu!"
"Like always." Shirabe and Kirika took out their injectors, repeating the motion they had done for a long time now, and injected their LINKERS into each other."If we're together, nothing can stop us."
"Right on-desu!"
"Ignite Module, BAKKEN!"
Both girls reached for each other's pendants and squeezed them.
"Dainsleif."
Chao-Xing released a battle cry, barely missing Chiaki as the lilac-haired girl leaped out of the way of her fists.
"So sad! So hopeless!" Chiaki landed on top of a building."You got one lucky shot. But don't worry. I don't have to get close to make you suffer."
The crazed girl glanced down at the containers around her waist, noticing she had collected a good amount of blood from Chao-Xing."Good...Almost there."
A thunder spear was hurled in her direction, but Chiaki merely slashed it apart with her scissors. She jumped back to the ground, breaking several mirrors to activate her next technique.
Cain
Suddenly, Chao-Xing was surrounded by a dozen mirrors from all directions. Chiaki jumped inside them and her reflection reflected from all of them.
"What the hell is this?!" Chao-Xing seethed, hearing Chiaki's laughter from everywhere.
"Let's see how you do with this!" All Chiakis threw mirror shards simultaneously, forcing Chao-Xing to spin around in circles and punch them away. However, a few of them hit their target, piercing through her skin. She kicked the ground, lunging at the mirror Chiaki had come from to punch it. Chiaki quickly leaped out of the mirror into another one, making all of her reflections throw more shards at the oriental girl.
With a scream, released a powerful aura of lightning, bouncing the shards off her body. As she was falling toward the ground, Chiaki shot out of the mirror, slashing at the girl's back and jumping inside another. She did the same thing again, this time, even faster than before. Before Chao knew it, Chiaki was moving faster than she could track through her mirrors, essentially trapping her.
'I can't believe I'm having this much trouble with this trickster! She's aiming away from my bionic arm. She's not as dumb as I had thought.' She attempted to block, the attacks, taking the slashes with her gauntlets but sometimes her flesh was unable to be spared. However, she did notice that while Chiaki was traveling from mirror to mirror, she wouldn't have any reflections. Meaning that if she somehow got her to stop, she could break all mirrors at once.
'I have no choice.' She reached for her pendant.'I have to use this. If I don't, I'll suffer the greatest shame of all again...defeat.'
Her body was covered in shards, looking like a porcupine with all of them stuck to her.'Why am I hesitating? If that airhead and the other two morons did it, surely I can too, right?'
Grimaced, feeling her cheek being sliced, and retaliated by firing a thunderbolt at the mirror, destroying it. But Chiaki simply jumped inside another and continued her assault. Without a second thought, she grasped her pendant tightly.
"Ignite Module, BAKKEN!"
"Dainsleif."
Once the dart pierced through her, Chao-Xing was engulfed in the curse's darkness, causing her to scream. Chiaki dived back into her mirrors, watching from afar. She attempted to calm her mind and follow her own advice she had given Hajime, but she had understimated the curse and its effect.
"I...I am Chao-Xing...Liang!" She said through gritted teeth."If I lose against this maniac...I will never...ever...defeat that monster!"
"Yes, let me hear more of your screams!" Chiaki licked her lips viciously."I love it when they scream! Such a soothing sound! I remember them all too well! You speak of honor and shit like it's actually relevant! Who the fuck cares?! Your family was wiped out, but they will not die because you still remember them, right? And I promise you...after I kill you, you will live on inside of me. I will never forget you. I never forget those I kill. They will live on with me for all of eternity!"
"Can you just shut the fuck up for once?!" Chao-Xing snapped, cursing at the maniac girl.
"Chao-Xing-san!"
"We're here with you-desu!"
The raven-haired girl glanced over to Shirabe and Kirika, holding hands together to battle the curse in unison."They're going through the same...?"
"You're not alone! You're part of our family now!" Shirabe yelled, wincing."You're part of us now and are a precious friend!"
"We started on the wrong foot, but we appreciate you!" Kirika joined in."You've done so much for us too-desu! We won't forget how you saved us multiple times, even before you had your Relic-desu!"
"So fight with us against this curse!" Shirabe extended her arm outward as if wanting to reach her."You're not alone anymore! And never will be!"
'I'm not alone...' Chao-Xing repeated those words in her mind.'That's true...Ever since I came on this crazy journey, I've been accompanied by all of these people. People I once looked down on because I was foolish enough to think that my status made me better than the rest. But that's not true. I was never better. I was...just me. I am no longer Chao-Xing Liang, heiress to the Liang clan. I am Chao-Xing, wielder of the Mjolnir Relic. Proud member of S.O.N.G!'
She remembered her cousins and the others back at HQ. Her time spent with them at the beach. Despite how harsh she was, they never pushed her away. And even Lingyun and Xiangling, who deserve to hate her the best because of how she treated them, called her family.
'Right...You're right, Lingyun. I am not just fighting for revenge anymore. Or my family. I'm fighting for the people I can call friends today.' She rose her head, locking eyes with Chiaki."And I will protect them! If I can't protect my friends from these pests, how can I ever defend them from that monster?!"
All three girls let out a roar in unison, as the curse began to yield.
"A little too late!" Chiaki jumped back into the mirrors, appearing from the mirror above Chao-Xing, and was propelled down to cut her head off her body, combing her scissor blades into one again.
The pendants released a surge of darkness, engulfing all the girls and sinking into their armor. In an instant, all Symphogears had adopted the pitch-black color scheme of the Ignite Module to their respective Gears. Pink for Shirabe, green for Kirika, and cyan blue for Chao-Xing.
(Play New Genesis - Ado)
In an instant, Chao-Xing disappeared from sight, leaving a very puzzled Chiaki cutting the air as she missed her.
"The fuck just-"
Before she could react, a black thunderbolt collided against her side, sending her crashing into a car."W-what?!"
Chao-Xing used her boosters to fly toward, Chiaki, forcing her to jump back into the mirror and shoot herself into another one. She began repeating this process until she went back to full speed.
"Hmph!" Chao-Xing scoffed before resuming her song. She detached the mallets from her shoulders, throwing them in the art and connecting them with black lightning from her hands, increasing their size by focusing her Phonic Gain into them. Swinging her fists, she flung the hammers at the mirror Chiaki had entered. Colliding her fists, she controlled the hammers to try and squash Chiaki, forcing her to come out into the open. The lilac-haired girl glanced at the sky, noticing Chao-Xing once again high above the ground, raising her hand and calling both hammers to her.
The hammers began circling each other, connecting at the butts and forming a double-edge hammer. Punching the air, she sent the giant hammer to the ground, destroying all the mirrors that Chiaki had created in one fell swoop.
Orbital Beat
"W-what the fuck?! Chiaki instinctively used her boosters to fly upward, meeting face-to-face with Chao. She grabbed more mirrors, breaking them.
Alice Kyteler
The mirror shards morphed into mirror versions of Chiaki. All of them wielding the same Armed Gear.
"Let's see how you do against my Mirror Maidens, bitch!"
The Mirror Maidesn all flew toward Chao, who simply splayed her arms to her sides, releasing black thunder from her fingers and swinging her arms, unleashing countless small black thunderbolts from the heavens.
Meteor Shower
The Mirror Maidens were quickly dispatched, breaking into pieces. However, more of them emerged from the mirrors around them. Not wanting to destroy the mirrors and leave no exit for the boys, Chao-Xing concentrated her attention on the original.
Chiaki snarled, grabbing the mirrors on her earpiece and shattering them, conjuring knives made of mirrors to form around her.
Jack The Ripper
Chao-Xing began moving around, dodging the incoming knives and punching away at the Mirror Maides, pulling her right gauntlet back and focusing her energy on it. The black lighting swirled around her, cladding her whole arm into black thunder.
"D-damn you! FUCK YOU! I am not losing against you again!" Chiaki screeched, throwing all of her knives in unison. She glanced down to the containers on the side, realizing they were almost full.'Fuck it. I have no choice. I never used this before, but what choice do I have?!'
The serial killer reached for her pendant, attempting to squeeze it. But a thunderclap froze her in her tracks. Chao-Xing was right in front of her, winding her fist back before throwing a powerful punch at her face, connecting against her lower jaw."Fist of justice!"
The piston on her gauntlet hammered down, causing the thunder to shoot out of her arm and hit Chiaki dead on, dislocating her jaw and nearly shattering it, sending her flying toward a building, crashing into it.
Lighting Revolt Disobey
Unable to maintain her transformation, Chiaki returned to her human form. Subsequently, all Mirror Maidens shattered at once. Chiaki trembled in fear, unable to form coherent words due to her dislocated jaw. All she could do was pull out a red vial from her pocket and break it, vanishing from sight.
"Phew..." Chao-Xing reverted to her regular Mjolnir form once the threat was done with.
Meanwhile, Kirika and Shirabe had just begun fighting Micha again.
(Play Just Loving X-Edge)
"Oh, yes! Finally!" In a burst of flames, Micha burnt away her dress as well as her hair clips, leaving her long hair cascading down to her knees."The unimaginable power that grows without limit!"
Kirika was the first one dashing forward, with Shirabe behind her. The blonde swung her scythe, only for Micha to catch it with both hands. However, Shirabe swung her yo-yos, causing the Autoscorer to jump out of the way.
"So you have those too? Funny. Zeke has a yo-yo too but it's not as cool!" Micha rapid-fire spears at Shirabe, who tried to deflect them with her yo-yo but was outmatched, landing harshly on the ground.
"Shirabe!"
"Now that I'm going all out, there's no way this puny song is enough to stop me!"
Kirika tried blocking with her scythe, but Micha's punch proved too effective and launched her away.'I can't lose here...'
"I will do my best to make you fall in love with me."
'Damn it, why am I thinking about that jerk now?!' Kirika grimaced upon remembering Kuroiwa.'But...he's just like me. He doesn't remember anything about his past life. But he found people that care about him...If someone like him can be strong, then I can be strong too!'
With her newfound determination, Kirika blocked Micha's strike, using her scythe and support and double-kick her in the face, sending her staggering away.
"Woah! Where did that come from?!" Micha couldn't help but be amazed.
Shirabe unfolded her twin tails, revealing even more buzzsaws with more extensions than before.
Alpha Style: 100 Saṃsāra
Micha countered by rapidly firing her spears, noticing Kirika closing in from behind. She gritted her teeth, quickly facing Kirika with one hand and Shirabe with the other, shooting her projectiles.
Both girls grimaced, feeling the intense heat of Micha's flames as they parried her attacks while also attacking back.
'Raiden is right. Maybe I don't have a boyfriend like Maria or a potential crush like Kiri-chan.' She swung her yo-yos at Micha, who blasted herself into the air with her palms to avoid them.'But I'm sure there is someone out there for me. So even if I'm a Plain Jane like he says...I won't give up!'
The black-haired girl ran toward Micha, extending her sawblades to form a giant monowheel around her.
Extreme Sigma Style; Forbidden Moon
"Coming directly at me with such a straightforward attack won't do you any good!" Micha cackled, not at all concerned.
"She's not the only one!"
Numerous chains wrapped around Micha's body, stabbing into the ground and preventing her from moving an inch."W-woah! What is this?! When did you set this up?!"
The blonde wielder formed a scythe at her feet, using her boosters to shoot forward while Shirabe began riding toward Micha. Kirika shot two hooks from her scythe, linking up with Shirabe's wheel, causing them to retract to each other with Micha in the middle of the combined attacks.
"You combined your power to achieve what you can't alone?!"
Forbidden Wheel of Evil: ZABABA Eclipse
Both girls sang in unison, meeting in the middle as a smile graced Micha's face."Yay! That was so much fun! You really surprised-"
"You look cute with your hair down."
"I do?"
"Yes. You heard me right."
"Aw, Zeke. I knew you found me beautiful! Maybe I'll try wearing my hair down more often!"
"I said cute, not beautiful. But maybe if you acted more mature, I'd find you beautiful."
"You're just no fun."
Micha's smile turned upside down, as she pondered on the last thought of her existence."I never got to say I love you...Zeke...I'm sorry-"
Both wielders landed on opposite sides as Micha exploded into smithereens.
"We...did it..." Shirabe panted, falling on her knees as her attire returned to her normal clothes.
"I'm pooped..." Kirika approached her, only to fall on her butt next to her, equally exhausted."Oh, no! We forgot about Chao-Xing-san! We have to-"
A pair of hands patted their heads, silencing them before they could express their concern.
"Good work, you two." Chao-Xing sat between them, grinning at them."Seems like you saved my ass this time."
"We...did-desu?"
"Sure. You gave me words of encouragement when I needed them the most." She ruffled their heads playfully."So I'd say we're even now. How's that?"
Both girls beamed at their senior, tackling her into a hug. Chao-Xing cringed at the contact, but decided to relax, returning the hug."Yeah, yeah...Sure. Have your fill..."
Just then, Raiden and Andreas emerged from a window of a store nearby, earning the girls' attention. However, what caught their attention was the unconscious pale-skin Autoscorer they had encountered before. Damian.
"I can't believe he got away!" Zeke roared, stomping on his podium in anger.
"It's your fault for playing around too much." Phara teased him, but her brother was not in the mood.
"Shut up! He just got lucky! Next time, I will kill him! I-"
Before he could continue, the red banner lit up with alchemical equations like Garie's.
"Does that mean...Micha is...dead?" His anger suddenly left his body as if someone had flipped a switch. His face twitched, mouth agape before it turned into a maniacal smile. "That's great! I am so happy for her! She did her job spectacularly!"
"Yes, she did." Leiur nodded."And so we shall as well."
"Indeed." Bragard entered the room, hands behind his back."It's important to do the things we must do, right?"
"Right on, Lord Bragard!"
Just then, the device in the middle of Carol's throne opened up, revealing a nude Carol, revived. Leiur, Phara, and Zeke knelt to welcome the small blonde.
"I see. So Garie and Micha..." Carol observed the banners with a blank expression. She glanced down at the Autoscorers."Where is Damian? Was he defeated as well?"
"That traitorous scum left!" Zeke informed Carol."He started spewing a bunch of nonsense about how Garie was his wife in the past and how we're all human. He's deluded. I tried to kill him but he escaped. I assure you, Lady Carol, I will not make the same mistake again."
Carol's eyes widened at his words, her gaze falling on Bragard."You...did you...?!"
"I did...?" Bragard chuckled.
"You and me. Outside. Now."
"Sure. But you might want to put some clothes on, my fair princess." Bragard shrugged, heading to the exit of the hall room.
Carol scoffed, gritting her teeth.'Don't tell me you showed them their memories...You promised me you wouldn't do that!'
"Master, what should we do in the meantime?" Phara inquired.
"Isn't it obvious?" Carol took a deep breath to calm herself."The Apocalypse to all Creation. We will slaughter every last miracle there is. Not even the Messiah will be able to stop me. Phara, head to take out the remaining keystones. Leiur, you and Lulu and coming with me. And Zeke..."
"Shall I go hunting down the traitor, Lady Carol?"
"Yes. It will be troublesome if he does anything foolish and gets in the way. In the meantime..." She clenched her tiny fists."I will have a word with Bragard."
Micha goes out and Carol comes in. We're approaching the final battle. So all Symphogear have their Ignite Module and all the Riders have their Survive forms. Except for the Divine Disasters of Valhalla and Andreas. But don't worry. They will get them soon.
I assume Adam is eons old since he was created before humans by the Custodians. Whether Enki and Shem-Ha were involved, I'm not sure. But it had to have been before their fight. Unless I'm mistaken on the lore. So that's why Hella knows about him. Also, yes, this is Hell or Hell, daughter of Loki. I'm going to call her Hela because Hell would be kind of misleading since Helheim will be called Hell on some occasions.
Also, Verde's crossbow is based on Robin Hood's Yew Bow from Fate Extra. Chiaki's attacks are named after serial killers from the past. Except for Cain, but I found it fitting to be one of her abilities since he was the first murderer. You might be wondering...where is the fire? Well, just give it time. I'll see what I can do. But I thought using glass and mirrors would fit her well since she's an unhinged serial killer that relies on knives and things like that.