Everyone in HQ was watching the situation unfold on the monitors. A screen appeared to show Ogawa and Jeanne contacting SONG, with Kirika on a stretcher.

"The emergency team was able to extract Kirika-chan." Aoi reported.

"Thank goodness…" Shirabe let out a breath of relief.

Chris put a hand on Shirabe's shoulder to reassure her.

"What about the civilians in the area?!" Genjuro shouted.

"Still evacuating! We're going as fast as possible!" Fujitaka said.

Rui was watching the footage on the monitor, slightly clenching her fist. Surprisingly, Tsubasa did the same. "So this is the power a god can bring to bear?"

"We don't have enough time!" Maria said.

"Right! Deicide!" Chris remembered. "Didn't we have something up our sleeves too?!"

"Ogawa and Jeanne are heading up the intelligence operation! However, we have yet to uncover a useful lead." Genjuro said.

Lala remained silent, remembering what she had seen in Aiba's memory banks. If what I saw is true… Shuri might be the key to our victory…


Saint-Germain aimed her weapon at her former employer. "The divine power should be used to better the future of mankind. It's not for one person to take for themselves!"

"Future? Mankind?" Adam took off his hat. "Give me a break!"

He tossed his weapon at Saint-Germain, the rim of the hat bursting into flames. Saint-Germain shot at it, but the bullets did nothing. Hibiki ran up and punched the hat, knocking it back at Adam. The Lodgemaster caught it, surprised by the action, as was Saint-Germain.

"Why protect me?" Saint-Germain asked.

"That's a stupid question." Maia laughed.

"Because I'm selfish like that." Hibiki answered. "Or so my dear friend says."

"Selfish?" Saint-Germain repeated.

"Feel free to die together, weaklings!" Adam shouted, throwing an onslaught of flames. The trio dodged the attack, with Saint-Germain firing back at him. The man casually walked around the shots without a care as Saint-Germain reloaded. She fired another shot, but he redirected the bullet, absorbing it. Saint-Germain grit her teeth in irritation.

"There once was a time when I thought I was going to be crushed by others…" Hibiki said, remembering what she had gone through after the concert. "The one person that was there to fight that oppression for me… she couldn't be there to protect me all the time."

Rui's injury from protecting her was always in the back of her mind.

"If she was there to always fight that oppression, maybe things would've gone differently." Hibiki said. "So when I thought about that, how I'd rather talk to you than fight you, my body just moved on reflex."

Maia smiled at her friend's words. She knew Kanade would have been proud of Hibiki.

"Hibiki Tachibana." Saint-Germain said. "The target you must strike is Tiki, the puppet serving as a focal point for the power."

"Tiki… Tiki… Tiki… An… tiky… thera…" Tiki murmured.

"Destroying the vessel will prevent the divine power's manifestation." Saint-Germain explained. "This joint struggle of ours is no alliance. It is merely my selfishness."

(Insert Hanasaku Yūki by Aoi Yuuki)

"Wow, you really got through to her, huh Hibiki?" Maia chuckled.

Hibiki nodded with a grin. "If it's selfishness, then I guess there's nothing else we can do! Saint-Germain-san! Let's fight together for others' sake!"

Hibiki rushed forward at Adam, while Saint-Germain jumped to the side, firing upon him. The Lodgemaster easily dodged or blocked the attacks without much care.

"Did you delude yourselves into thinking you had a chance?" Adam asked

"You better quit talking, asshole!" Maia jumped down from above, stabbing into the ground Adam stood on seconds before. "You're not just fighting one Gungnir!"

Maia grabbed Hibiki by the back of her collar and launched her upwards, before she aimed a diving kick at Adam. He dodged it and landed his feet upon a tree. Hibiki kicked off one, and Adam attempted to do the same, but found his footing was stuck thanks to Saint-Germain.

"Give it to him!" Maia shouted.

Hibiki's fist transformed into a massive gauntlet, as she slugged Adam in the gut, sending him crashing through the tree. Saint-Germain smirked at their successful attack.


"How can they join hands with someone she was fighting to the death just a moment ago?" Chris asked, watching the three battle Adam.

"I'm sure you can remember just how natural it felt, Yukine." Tsubasa reminded her.

Maria and Rui both shared a look.

"S-Still, they won't beat him that easily." Chris pointed out.

"You're right." Maria agreed. "With every second that passes, they're more and more at a disadvantage."


Hibiki and Maia were rushing through the air. Saint-Germain made several footholds for them to jump off of as they flew towards Tiki.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that!" Adam shouted.

He swung his arm, shooting a blade of wind. It knocked them both out of the sky, as Saint-Germain caught the two.

"Every last inch of Tiki… all of it is exclusively for me!" Adam declared.

"It's filling me up!" Tiki shouted, feeling the divine energy.

"We're running out of time!" Hibiki said, watching Tiki grow stronger.

But something feels off. Maia noted, looking at Adam's rather smug grin.

"One tiny issue, Lodgemaster." Saint-Germain said. "Where's that chrysopoeia you're so proud of? You have no reason to hold back against us, so why do you refrain from unleashing your most powerful attack?"

Adam grit his teeth, while Maia smirked. "Oh, I get it now."

"You weren't expecting to have to tap into the ley lines of the heavens." Saint-Germain said. "It's plain to see that opening the gate that way left you without the strength for transmutation!"

"So this is our chance, then?" Maia asked.

"Indeed it is." Saint-Germain held up her weapon. "We'll attack now!"

"Right!" Hibiki nodded.

Maia spun her hands, forming a spear, while Hibiki's gauntlet expanded in size.

"No one likes someone who's too smart for their own good." Adam said.

Saint-Germain fired a shot of energy, transforming into the blue wolf once more. Adam threw his hat, with the rim bursting into flames. It tore through Saint-Germain's attack, but not without some struggle. Hibiki and Maia jumped through the explosion, who had to reach out and catch both their attacks.

"We're sending you to hell!" Maia shouted.

"I'll shout "Even so!"" Hibiki roared. "Until it pierces the heavens!"

Saint-Germain had drawn her blade and swung down. "I'll take you down!"

Her blade cut into Adam's arm, causing it to go limp from the damage.

"Hurry, Hibiki Tachibana!" Saint-Germain encouraged. "Before Tiki attains the divine power!"

Hibiki nodded, but Adam lowered himself to the ground in front of them. His damaged arm was sparking, revealing it was mechanical in nature.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me…" Maia widened her eyes.

"The lodgemaster leading the Bavarian Illuminati is… nothing more than a puppet?" Saint-Germain said, shocked.

"His body… it was the same as Oneesan…" Hibiki realized. Is that how Tesla built Lala, and repaired Oneesan?

"Puppet?" Adam repeated, anger growing. "PUPPET?!"

"How dare you?" Tiki called down. "How dare you hurt Adam?!"

The divine energy in Tiki began to spike, glowing red and covering everything.

"What's going on?!" Hibiki shouted.

"This light…" Saint-Germain said. "It's being born!"


HQ wasn't faring much better, as the cameras were only showing the red light and nothing else.

"What the hell is going on over there?!" Chris squinted her eyes.

"We've regained visuals!" Fujitaka shouted.

"Putting it on screen!" Aoi tapped a few keys.

The image came on screen, and everyone was silent, seeing what was before them.

"What…" Genjuro's pupils shrank. "On Earth…?"

Shuri put a hand over her heart, which started painfully beating. What… What is this feeling…?


"Holy shit…" Maia had to speak for both Hibiki and Saint-Germain, who were both stunned into silence.

Descending from the sky was a massive mechanical monster. It resembled an odd mermaid-like being, with divine energy glowing off of it. It only barely resembled Tiki, reminding them of who it was. It was almost as tall as a skyscraper.

"And the divine power is manifest." Adam said, floating nearby the crystal on the beast's chest. "Though I had originally planned to just take it with me."

"I'm sorry." Tiki spoke from within the crystal. "I saw you get hurt and couldn't help myself."

"What's done is done." Adam said, putting his hand on his hat. "But now that it is done…"

Several gold mirror-like constructs appeared, seemingly at Tiki's command.

"Why not show them just what divine power is capable of?" He asked. "Flee in terror from the Divine Weapon!"

The blue crystals on the Divine Weapon's shoulders glew, as gold energy flickered down. With a resounding snap, the ground that Hibiki, Maia and Saint-Germain stood on seconds before exploded. While Saint-Germain managed to stay safe from the constant barrage of blasts, Hibiki and Maia weren't as lucky, getting hit from the explosions and landing in one of the craters. Wincing, Hibiki opened her eyes to see all the destruction that the Divine Weapon had caused, destroyed buildings, smoke and flames, everything around them looked like the end of the world was here.


The others back at the base were also treated to a view of all the damage that had unfolded.

"Can our Symphogear really stop a power that destructive?" Shirabe asked.

Rui clenched her fist. If we stopped Carol and Tesla, we can stop that bastard too… I hope.


"You kept asking if I had any humanity left in me, Saint-Germain." Adam said. "Of course I don't. I was never human to begin with."

"Adam Weishaupt, just what are you?" Saint-Germain asked, as Maia helped Hibiki stand.

He lowered himself down to their level to speak.

"They created me to serve as their representative." Adam said.

""They"?" Hibiki asked.

"But they discarded me. I was still just a prototype." Adam went on. "They said I was too perfect! What utter nonsense! It makes no sense. The perfect can never be inferior to the imperfect. A flaw in the world I intend to rectify. The perfect will regain their rule!"

"No, I think it makes total sense they tossed you into the space dumpster." Maia spoke up.

"...what?" Adam glared at her.

"You're just a robot, aren't you?" Maia asked. "Well, it makes a lot of sense why they abandoned you if you were so "perfect.""

"What are you implying?" Saint-Germain asked, genuinely curious what the girl was saying.

"Being such a "superior being" compared to humanity means that no matter what, he wasn't gonna be able to fit in, because he lacks what humanity has; heart and spirit." Maia said. "And we got a friend that might be all bolts and bytes, made of the same thing that this jerk is, but she's a hundred- no, a thousand times more awesome and human than this loser."

"Lala-san?" Hibiki smiled.

Adam glared at Maia. "Her… are you saying that I'm inferior to Tesla's failed experiment?!"

"Hey, you said it, jackass." Maia shrugged with a smirk. "But the fact that you're getting pissed off means you already know the answer."

"You… I WILL SILENCE YOU, WORM!" Adam raised his arm, as the Divine Weapon started to move, gathering energy in its mouth. Seeing it about to fire, Hibiki stepped forward and clashed her fists together.

"What are you doing?!" Saint-Germain said, shocked.

"I can't let it open fire like that again!" Hibiki said.

"I'm with you, Hibiki!" Maia put her spear away, as the two took off. The two drew their fists back forming gauntlets, before throwing a punch at the Divine Weapon's face, forcing it to look upwards. The crystals on the head cracked from where the two Gungnir users had struck her.

"Tiki?" Adam said, surprised she was damaged by the attack.

The Divine Weapon swiped outwards, and Maia quickly formed twin blades to protect her and Hibiki, as they were hit out of the air. The blast from the Divine Weapon fired skyward, destroying a satellite orbiting the planet.

"Prelati and Cagliostro lost their lives… for this?!" Saint-Germain's eyes were wide with horror.


"We've lost signal from the security cameras in the area." Aoi said, seeing the footage was dead.

Jeanne came up on the communicator, as Aiba spoke. "All of my signals for this section of the planet are gone. The satellite in space has been destroyed."


Maia winced, sitting up. She realized Hibiki was in her arms, as she had instinctively wrapped her cape around the younger girl to protect her. Saint-Germain landed by the two.

"Sh-Shit…" Maia tried to sit up, but found that she couldn't. "Hibiki… you alright?"

Hibiki's armor was sparking from the damage, as was her own.


Miku was looking out the window, seeing red comets falling out of the sky. She gently clenched her fist, praying for Hibiki and Rui's safety.


"We got word from the Sielje region." Fujitaka said. "The weapon's beam hit an American military satellite, vaporizing it instantly."

"How are Hibiki-kun, Maia and Saint-Germain?" Genjuro asked.

"All cameras in the area are still down. We're searching for another means of visuals." Fujitaka said.

"Commander!" Aoi said. "The various ministries are all on the line!"

"They can wait!" Genjuro said. "We-"

The monitor turned on to show Fudou Kazanari. "What is happening?"

The others stepped back to let Genjuro talk to him.

"I asked you what is happening." Fudou said.

"We're still confirming that information." Genjuro responded.

"Fools, the lot of you." Fudou scoffed. "This is already an internationally-known incident. Their next move is obvious. They will deploy their combined forces under the guise of a peacekeeping mission, using the flag of the UN to invade our country."

"There must still be a way." Genjuro said. "That's what we're here for!"

Genjuro ended the call, and Fudou leaned back in his chair. "In the end it is I, the true sentinel, who must shoulder the fate of the country."

He tapped the laptop, pulling up a few files. Several of which had pictures of the Tachibana siblings…


"What was that about?" Maria asked.

"It means the head of the Kazanari family will join this battle." Tsubasa said.

"Screw that guy." Rui muttered. Maia's not gonna be happy.

"We have visuals!" Fujitaka shouted.

The screen turned on to show Maia and Hibiki on the ground. Both of their armor were sparking from damage, and it was clear they were on the ropes.

"Hibiki-san! Maia-san!" Shirabe called.

"Are they nuts!? Now's not the time for a nap!" Chris shouted.


"A-Adam? I did good, right?" Tiki asked. "T-Tell me I did g-good…"

"You're a good girl, Tiki." Adam floated by the head of the Divine Weapon.

"Then hug me… squeeze me… If you don't, I won't believe you..."

"I would like nothing more." Adam said. "But alas, I cannot do so. Not given your currently immense size."

"You're so mean… But that's one more thing I love about you."

Several gunshots rang out, as they all hit the Divine Weapon. Chunks were blasted off, as Saint-Germain kept firing. "I won't spare a single shot!"

While the attacks seemed to be doing damage, the Divine Weapon glew, before several images converged upon it, restoring it to being undamaged.

"You can do that too, can you?" Saint-Germain said, annoyed.

She fired again, destroying the hand, but it had the same result. The hand swept out at her, knocking her back.


"That's the same power as Yohualtepuztli!" Shirabe remembered.

"The damage never happens at all!" Maria added.

"Overwhelming offense and total defense." Tsubasa said.

"Even if our Gears were decontaminated, what could we do?" Chris asked.

Rui grit her teeth and clenched her fist. If only I go out there…!

Shuri's heart was beating faster, but she tried ignoring it.


Saint-Germain landed, slightly damaged.

"Humanity is imperfect." Adam declared. "With a perfect ruler, they would form the perfect colony. A ruler such as I! One who transcends mankind!"

"Don't get ahead of yourself, puppet." Saint-Germain glared. "Your ideals are a half-baked copy of Nikola Tesla's."

"And you call yourself an alchemist?" Adam sneered. "If you truly seek perfection, accept my rule!"

"We sought only to release mankind from oppression." Saint-Germain said. "You used us. Our struggles, our dreams, the countless lives we sacrificed… Everything is gone."

Adam ignored her and turned to Hibiki and Maia. "I won't even need the Divine Weapon to finish this. I'll personally, carefully, drive the stake through your hearts."

"Fuck you…" Maia muttered, watching Adam lower himself to the ground.


"Is praying for divine intervention all we have left?" Genjuro wondered, seeing the hopelessness of the situation.

"Don't give up!" A voice called out from the monitor. "I'm sure that's what she'd tell you as well!"

"Broadcast source unknown." Aoi said. "It's encrypted. We can't trace it. But…"

Several boxes of text appeared on the monitor. Fujitaka widened his eyes at the information on them. "These are the decrypted Val Verde documents!"

"This is all the information we have. The information here about the power of deicide might just be your salvation."

Lala was scanning all the info as fast as she could. All of this… none of this was in Tesla's information or Aiba's memory banks.

"How do you know about the power of deicide?!" Chris demanded.

Ogawa and Jeanne appeared on the screen. "We got in contact with them during our search for related intel. They agreed to help us."

A spear appeared on the screen. Maria looked closer. "What is this?"

"Originally, it was the spear they used to check if the Son of God died. The spear was handed down through ages past, though its power was kept a secret. According to these documents, it did not originally possess the power to kill gods."

"Then what happened?" Shirabe asked.

"Over two millennia, it came to be associated with the death of a divine being, altering its true nature."

"You mean… a philosophical armament?" Tsubasa remembered. "Like the one we discovered during the Alexandria Incident?"

"The very same spear the Germans went to extreme lengths to acquire during the war…"

The name of the Relic appeared on screen in red.

GUNGNIR

"Gungnir datto?!" Genjuro shouted.

"Some good news, huh?" Hibiki said, while Rui looked at her hand.

"Tachibana!" Tsubasa turned to the screen.

"Oh good, you're awake now." Maia smiled.


(Insert UNLIMITED BEAT by Nana Mizuki)

"Looks like we still have a chance." Hibiki said.

"Yeah, if the key is Gungnir…" Maia helped Hibiki up.

"They figured it out?" Adam realized.

"Then we can always go one more round!" Rui and Maia both declared.

"Tiki!" Adam called.

The Divine Weapon fired beams from its shoulders at the two Gungnir users. The two dodged it, jumping off the debris towards their foe.

"This is as far as you go, god-slayers!" Adam shouted, throwing his hat at them.

A shot from Saint-Germain's weapon blew away Adam's hat. "I see. All the pieces have fallen into place. That ludicrous chrysopoeia of yours wasn't intended to destroy the Symphogear. It was your attempt to bury the information that threatened to thwart your plan."

The lodge master's hat returned to him, and he put it on. "Remember what I said about being too smart?"

He dodged several more of Saint-Germain's shots, before ripping off his damaged arm. It hardened up into a metallic substance, as he literally caught the swing of Saint-Germain's weapon.

"This is insane!" Saint-Germain shouted.

"Now die, just like your dreams and ideals did!" Adam shouted.

A blade flew down from above, landing in between the two. Saint-Germain looked up to see Maia was the one that had thrown the katana, as she briefly saluted her.

"I see…" Saint-Germain picked up the blade, briefly clanging it against her own. "Fly, inheritors of Gungnir! Hibiki Tachibana! Maia Kazanari!"

Adam turned to watch the two Gungnir-users jumping off the mid-air debris to get closer to Tiki. "I got carried away!"

Saint-Germain slashed at Adam, with both her spellcaster and the blade that Maia lent her. Sparks danced across the battlefield as she battled her former superior. "I'll keep pressing on! For all I've sacrificed, for all the sins I must shoulder, I will not fail here! I cannot afford to lose!"

She clashed her blades, shooting a blast of blue energy, sending Adam flying. Narrowing his eyes, he saw Hibiki and Maia getting close to the Divine Weapon.

"Don't let those annoying flies near you!" He screamed.

Hibiki and Maia both shouted, drawing their fists back. Hibiki's formed into a huge gauntlet, while Maia's turned into wristblade. The Divine Weapon threw its fists forward to meet them. "LEAVE ADAM ALONE!"

Hibiki and Maia's attacks struck Tiki's, as they started cracking and glowing. The arms shattered, and Tiki screamed in pain. She tried to regenerate it, but the images converged to restore nothing, causing her to scream further.


"The Divine Weapon is unable to regenerate!" Aoi shouted.

"It's working…" Maria was in awe. "So it's real?!"

"They have the philosophical armament of deicide!" Chris shouted.

Rui raised a hand, making a fist. Then that means… the time I kicked the hell out of that massive snake…!

The door to the base opened, and Kirika entered, though still in her hospital gown.

"Kiri-chan!" Shirabe smiled.

"I told her not to leave her bed, but she insisted." Forte walked in after her.

"Do you recall the final cargo plane that departed Val Verde?" The informant asked. "It was carrying a number of wartime records."

"We did some pretty crazy stuff back there, but I'm glad that it was worth it, dess." Kirika said.

"I have a question. Why would your country share such valuable, classified intel with us?" Genjuro asked.

"There was a song."

"A song?"

"One of my superiors told me about it. They heard a song, beneath a sky engulfed in flames. Since then, I've been hoping I could hear it too."


Tiki slammed the ground with the arm stumps she had left, launching Hibiki and Maia skyward. They couldn't seem to regain their footing, because of how much debris was flying around.

"Have they finally met their end?" Adam grinned.

"Hibiki Tachibana! Maia Kazanari!" Saint-Germain shouted.

Hearing their call, the two flipped back upwards. Hibiki's scarf glew gold, while Maia's cape glew sky blue.

"Stop, god-slayers!" Adam screamed.

Hibiki raised her fist, forming a drill, while Maia held out her spear, the head spinning rapidly.

"My fist, powered by the eight extremities, will tear down any gate!" Hibiki shouted.

"The power we inherited from those above, will destroy any enemy in our way!" Maia declared.

Maia held out her spear, as Hibiki grabbed the shaft. Her drill combined with the spearhead, becoming a massive weapon.

"The Gungnir we inherited! From Kanade Amou!" They both shouted, as their auras briefly turned vermillion as the drilling spearhead burst into flames..

PROMINENCEJUDGEMENT

Adam held out his arms. "It's time for your hug, Tiki! Release the divine power and fly into my arms!"

"Adam, I love you!" Tiki shouted, as the crystal popped off the Divine Weapon.

With almighty shouts, Hibiki and Maia's drills tore through the crystal, tearing Tiki in half. With Tiki defeated, what remained of the Divine Weapon turned gold, before exploding.


SONG watched the footage as the Divine Weapon was destroyed.

"They always come through when it counts!" Shirabe said, amazed.

"A flawless finish, dess!" Kirika agreed.

"Hell yeah, Partner!" Rui shouted. "Let's go!"


Adam stepped forward, seeing the damaged top half of Tiki trying to reach out to him. "I love you so much, Adam! Hold me! Don't let me go! Make my heart race!"

He narrowed his eyes. "Your love-mania makes me sick. But you made it."

Looking up, the gold energy that formed the Divine Weapon was floating in the sky, slowly falling.

"Close, but safe. I need something to harbor the divine power. A puppet…"

He briefly looked around for an option, before kicking the top half of Tiki away. "But why?!"

"The best choice is clearly… this!" He raised his severed arm. "I'll hold the divine power using my own arm! And when I do… Rather than Adam Weishaupt, I will be Adam Kadmon! The very model of the new world!"

The divine energy flew towards him… ignoring him completely.

"What…? What is this?"

He looked behind him to see the divine energy flowing into Hibiki. The girl slowly stood up, confused. "What's happening?"

"Hibiki?" Maia widened her eyes, seeing her friend glowing before standing up.

Saint-Germain was speechless, seeing what was happening before her eyes.

"What is this?" Hibiki was looking at her hands. "Ah… Ah…!"

"Shit!" Maia tried reaching forward. "Hibi-!"

Golden light shone all over the area, completely blinding everyone.


The golden light completely filled SONG's bridge, as they were unable to see the situation.

"Hey… What is she doing?!" Chris asked, nervous.

"Neesama?!" Tsubasa called. "What's the situation?! Neesama!"

"Hibiki!" Rui screamed. "HIBIKI!"

Shuri widened her eyes. This feeling… What is this dreadfulness…?


The light started to fade, revealing a huge cocoon had set itself between the two remaining towers. Adam looked up in horror. "This can't be possible. Only an immaculate soul can serve as a vessel for the divine power!"

"How could a human, born shouldering the original sin, harbor it?" Saint-Germain looked up at the cocoon.

Maia was lying on the ground, looking at the red pulsating cocoon that contained her friend. Damn it… Did I fail again…?


A/N: Adding Maia into the fights is pretty great. Always fun expanding upon things with more characters. Maia getting under Adam's skin was one of my favorite parts to write.

But it's not all sunshine and rainbows, as we now have to deal with the divine power problems. I'm sure the repercussions won't be bad at all as we reach the end of the AXZ arc.

Feel free to leave a review. See you all next time.