Sky Striker Ace, but Symphogear

[All right, Chris. You don't know anything about defeat CGs, bondage and sadistic tentacles, or pure-love versus cuckold genres. Go look at the other sections now, and don't forget why you came to this website.]

After hypnotizing herself for a moment, Chris shifted her gaze to the other sections. Having endured the torture of all that bizarre text, she felt she could finally challenge the illustration and video sections.

[Let me see the illustration section... Pfft, huh. As expected, it's a test of one's resolve. But there's no way something at this level can make me back down.]

Rubbing her cute little nose, the white-haired girl watched the content on her phone with a flushed face.

And just like that, who knew how much time passed.

"Um, do you have any tissues? I think my nose is bleeding."

Having finished the illustration and video sections, Chris covered her nose with a face as red as a boiled crab and asked the black-haired girl beside her for help.

"Hmm?"

Hearing the voice from beside her, Kohinata Miku turned to look at the girl next to her and immediately understood what had happened.

"Okay, hold on. Here you go, Christina. Just use these."

Then, with a calm expression, she took a pack of tissues from the drawer and handed it to Chris.

"Thanks. Whew, I finally recovered. Seriously, what even is this stuff? What are the people who make it thinking?"

After plugging the bleeding spot with a tissue and tossing what she had just seen into a corner of her mind, Chris seemed to have fully recovered.

"Um, Christina, I understand you're at the age where you might be interested in that sort of thing, but it's better to do those things in your room."

Kohinata Miku quietly reminded Chris.

"Wait, wait, you've got it wrong! I wasn't watching that stuff on purpose. I was only trying to find information about my, uh, 'benefactor.' It's absolutely not because I wanted to see that stuff!"

Hearing Miku's gentle yet concerned reminder, Chris, who had just calmed down, became agitated again and tried hard to explain her actions with a reasonable excuse.

"Is that so? Sorry, I misunderstood. Christina, you're not that kind of person."

Seeing Chris so flustered, Miku gave an understanding smile and said so.

"Y-you... It's good that you understand."

Hearing Miku's words, Chris finally managed to straighten out her tongue and breathed a sigh of relief.

P.S. The new Sky Striker cards are unexpectedly useful.

P.S. How can there be a deck that celebrates New Year's every day?

Like a Clam

"By the way, Chris, you said you were trying to find information about your 'benefactor.' If that's the case, I have a suggestion. You should have seen the game download section on the site, right?"

After Chris calmed herself down, Kohinata Miku said this.

"Ah, there is a game download."

At Miku's reminder, Chris quickly noticed an icon on the webpage labeled Game Download.

Because of her preconceptions about the site, Chris had thought whatever was downloaded from there might contain a virus. She had planned to look through the other sections before downloading the game, but the content elsewhere had shocked her so much that she forgot about it.

"But why are you recommending that I play it? Judging by the other sections, isn't it just another ordinary indecent game?"

Chris asked Miku in a puzzled tone.

"That's not it, Christina. Actually, this game is the website's core product. The other sections are merely derivative works based on this game."

In response to Chris's question, Kohinata Miku merely shook her head and explained.

"Ah, is that so? So I was taking the long way around just now?!"

It was Chris's first time hearing something like that.

"Mm... You can't really put it that way. It's just that the order was a little off. No one says you can't get into an original work through fan creations."

After thinking for a moment, Miku quietly said this to Chris.

"Forget it. Anyway, I just need to play this game, right?"

No longer dwelling on the issue, Chris clicked Game Download. Soon, a download progress bar appeared on her phone.

"So slow... No, it should be so huge. Why is this game so big? What's even in it?"

Although the download bar had appeared, it was moving far more slowly than Chris had expected. Only then did she realize that what she had assumed was a small game was surprisingly large.

"Actually, everyone initially only wanted to make a small game. After word got out, more and more people came to participate, like a snowball rolling bigger and bigger. In the end, its scale became what it is now."

Miku smiled as she explained to Chris.

"...So what exactly did she do?"

Listening to Miku's explanation and looking at the game that would take a full half hour to download, Chris could not help asking in confusion.

The more she learned, the more Chris realized that Raye seemed to be far more popular than she had imagined.

"You don't know, Chris? That's strange. Didn't you have the same experience of being 'saved' as us? If so, how could you not know about that incident? It was a huge deal back then."

Hearing Chris's question, Miku asked in some confusion.

"Well, um... Sorry. Actually, I only met her by chance once. I don't really know much about the details."

Seeing the suspicion on Miku's face, Chris could not help growing nervous and covered it up like this. If she knew what had happened before, she would not have needed to visit this indecent website.

"You met her by chance once, and don't know much?"

Miku tilted her head and looked at Chris with puzzled eyes.

"I-I only met her by chance once, okay? So I really don't know what she did."

Under Miku's gaze, Chris became even more nervous. A trace of panic entered her voice, while inwardly she prepared to ask Raye for help.

"..."

Hearing Chris's words, Miku fell silent, seeming to think about something as she calmly watched Chris.

"Chris, when did you meet her?"

Before Chris's nerves could reach their limit, Kohinata Miku seriously asked a question that made Chris panic even more.

[How would I know when I was supposed to have met her?]

Chris's thoughts were a complete mess. With such a massive information gap, she had no idea how to answer.

[Anyway, ask Raye first. Tell her what's going on and see what I should say. Raye, are you listening?]

Facing this predicament that was overloading her brain, Chris chose to seek help from her external brain. Pretending to think, she inwardly connected to Raye through their Telepathic Communication.

[...Huh? Tell me, when you use someone else's image to create such embarrassing things, don't you feel even the slightest bit uneasy?]

[Have you ever considered how the creator herself would feel if she saw this unspeakable stuff? No, you haven't. You only care about having fun yourselves!!!]

[What do you mean, do I understand? How could I not understand what she thinks? I, I, I!!]

The moment Chris connected to Raye's Telepathic Communication, she heard a barrage of furious ranting, carrying emotions like a volcano about to erupt.

To be honest, since they first met, Chris had never seen Raye display such intense emotions. It completely overturned her long-held impression of Raye as quiet and steady.

[Um, Raye, what are you doing? Do you have a moment?]

Though inwardly shaken, Chris felt like she herself was about to be overturned if Raye did not give her advice soon.

[...]

Seemingly hearing Chris's voice, the irritable sounds that had continuously filled the link abruptly vanished.

[Raye?]

After a stretch of indescribable silence, Chris called out again.

"Ah, Chris, sorry. I saw something unclean and had a little friendly exchange with some people, so I got a bit emotional. What is it?"

Not long after Chris asked, Raye's voice came through the link. She sounded as composed as usual again.

"Well, here's what happened."

Chris then relayed the predicament she was currently facing to Raye.

[Is that so? Why does everyone love causing me trouble so much?]

After hearing Chris's explanation, Raye understood her predicament and could not help rubbing her forehead to ease her headache.

[Anyway, just muddle through with vague wording as much as possible. As far as I remember, what I did before was limited to Japan. Say I saved you overseas, so you didn't know what happened in the country. As for the time, just pick any year from 2035 onward.]

Although she was under great pressure, work could not be delayed. Raye still gave Chris advice that would not cause too many problems.

[Okay, got it.]

Having received Raye's advice, Chris felt more confident.

P.S. Good night.

Unfathomable

[That took a little too long. Christina thought for so long—does recalling something really take that much time?]

While Chris was intensely discussing countermeasures with Raye, Kohinata Miku had already developed such suspicions.

"Um, if my question is making you uncomfortable, Christina, you don't have to answer it."

After thinking for a moment, Miku spoke in a slightly apologetic tone.

"After all, it's not a particularly important question. If it makes you uncomfortable, Christina, then forget it."

Miku added this understandingly.

"Hmm? Oh, no, it's not that uncomfortable. It was just a long time ago, so it took me some time to remember the details."

Hearing Miku's words, Chris froze for a moment, then immediately spoke with slight urgency, as if something were pressuring her.

"Is that so? I thought my question might have been too difficult. So when did you meet her, Chris?"

Seeing Chris say that, Miku sighed in relief and asked again. She had thought the other's silence meant that her question had touched on something uncomfortable.

"Well, about six years ago. I was very young then. Honestly, if I hadn't seen familiar photos here, I might have already forgotten about it."

Questioned again, Chris was no longer as panicked as before.

"Ahem, roughly speaking, I ran into some bad things overseas because of certain circumstances, and she was the one who got me out of there. Honestly, I'm also surprised to find things related to her here."

Following the information Raye had given her as naturally as possible, Chris explained why she knew Raye.

"Six years ago?"

After understanding Chris's account, Miku seemed thoughtful, as though considering whether Chris's words made sense.

"Um, what is it? Is there a problem?"

Chris asked, trying to ease her inner tension. She did not know whether there were any contradictions in her story.

"No, it's nothing. It's just that I only learned now that Raye left this country after that."

Miku gently shook her head in response to Chris's question.

"Yeah, indeed, Ray—"

Feeling that she had gotten through it, Chris nodded and intended to say something casual.

"Ugh, cough cough."

At that moment, she suddenly felt something strange at her throat, then coughed twice uncontrollably, interrupting what she was about to say.

[Chris, don't relax. Also, listen carefully to what I'm about to say.]

Then that familiar voice rang out in Chris's mind.

[Raye, why so suddenly?]

Dazed by the sudden telepathic message, Chris asked inwardly.

[Don't worry about that. Time is short. Just deal with it as I tell you.]

Raye did not explain. Instead, she quickly and precisely gave Chris brief instructions on how to act next.

"What's wrong, Chris? Are you feeling unwell?"

On the other side, seeing Chris suddenly act strangely, Miku asked with concern.

"N-no, it's nothing. I just suddenly choked on my saliva."

Shaking her head and calming the warning from Raye that was still echoing in her mind, Chris explained.

"Mm, choked on your saliva... Be more careful, Christina."