Soulless

...Leader Bee form switch.

Aura suddenly said something in a low voice. The constant explosions around us kept me from hearing what she said, but when I turned to ask, she had already begun to transform.

Her long hair, reaching down to her ankles and nearly rivaling Viska's silver locks, shimmered with a faint glow as it danced without wind. Amid static like electromagnetic interference, Aura gradually floated into the air. The three pairs of crystal-and-metal blade cannons behind her slowly adjusted their angles, then after several seconds began rotating around her body in opposite pairs. Subtle energy ripples drifted through the air, growing stronger as Aura's six blade-cannon wings gradually glowed red. A minute later, Aura had nearly become a dazzling beacon, emitting pulses of astonishing intensity.

I looked toward Aura's smooth faceplate. Naturally, I could not see her expression; I could only see strings of data rapidly flowing across it, apparently spatial coordinates. The electronic static in our ears, like a radio caught in interference, grew even sharper than before, indicating that she was operating at full power.

"Beacon Leader Bee!" I heard that one clearly.

For a moment, I was slightly dazed. Even the increasingly dense explosions around us faded from my ears as countless feelings welled up inside me. Sandora had been right: Leader Bees were truly versatile all-rounders with an absurd range of uses. They could dish out damage while attacking, deploy shields while defending, resurrect someone who died on the spot, summon little helpers when manpower was short, and now turn into antennas when the signal was poor. I could hardly imagine whether there was any limit to a Leader Bee's crystal abilities. Perhaps other than being unable to turn into a mechanical dog, they could do anything...

Later, that guess was proven spectacularly