Sky Striker Ace, but Symphogear

Genjuro Kazanari said so, and after seemingly confirming that the attack truly could not interfere with her, Raye's voice vanished. In its place, all kinds of shrill noises came from every corner of the space.

"Commander, be careful in case she tries to escape or goes to Durandal's room."

Ogawa Shinji, crouching in a corner with several men in black suits and warily aiming his gun around them, shouted a reminder.

He had not forgotten that their opponent's goal had never been to defeat them from the beginning. After he called out, he seemed to faintly hear a single "click" amid the countless noises.

"Ah, I know. I'll follow her closely and won't let her get away."

Genjuro Kazanari answered as he became more proactive, constantly moving and pursuing Raye, who was likewise constantly on the move.

The battlefield then fell into an eerie silence. Raye tried to shake off Genjuro's pursuit in the darkness, while Genjuro stayed firmly within a few meters of her.

He knocked the Shark Cannon away, instantly tore the Widow Anchor apart, and the Hornet Drones could only be used to block him for a moment. Once their stalemate began, Raye finally felt how troublesome this man was. He was practically a Normal Monster with extremely high attack power.

"This won't work. I have to find a way to change things..."

Just as Raye was thinking this, change arrived—though not in the way she had expected.

"Hi, hi! The genius Ryouko Sakurai has brought you some spare light bulbs."

With that announcement, light shone from several corners that were still relatively intact, illuminating the entire corridor and turning the battlefield from night into day.

"...You really helped us out, Sakurai."

Once there was light, Genjuro stopped his relentless, high-pressure fighting style and gave himself a moment to catch his breath. Although that approach had kept his opponent under considerable pressure, it had also consumed a great deal of his own stamina.

"..."

Raye stopped as well, seemingly taking a break.

"There is light now."

Seizing the opportunity, Ogawa hurried to the battlefield and used Shadow Stitch on Raye's shadow, which had appeared because of the light. Although she might dodge it now that her abilities had been exposed, it could still cause some interference.

Then...

The dart Ogawa threw struck Raye's shadow. Yes, it pinned the shadow down perfectly. The blonde girl offered no effective resistance throughout.

Raye tried moving a finger, seemingly wondering why she could no longer move, while Genjuro and Ogawa were likewise puzzled by how easily they had captured her.

Bang! Bang!

Gunshots rang out. Several copies in black suits had begun firing at the noisy Drones around them now that the darkness had receded. As one of the Drones was destroyed, the blonde girl seemed to realize something.

"Did it get brighter...? What ti—"

Raye muttered to herself, but then stopped speaking as if she had realized something else.

"You can't see, can you...? No, you should be blind in your left eye, and... your hearing is impaired too."

Looking at the white armor that completely covered Raye's right eye, Genjuro Kazanari reached this conclusion. If she could see, she would have noticed the change in her surroundings. If she could hear, she would have heard Ryouko Sakurai's announcement.

So that's why she didn't notice my Shadow Stitch.

Ogawa thought.

Although Genjuro Kazanari said this, Raye still showed no reaction, as though this unexpected situation had caused her some confusion.

"Hornet Drones, smoke!"

But she did not remain confused for long. Raye immediately issued the command. The small aircraft abruptly exploded, and thick smoke blocked out the lights, temporarily concealing the shadows.

"Whew, luckily I had a backup plan. But seriously, why would anyone install spare light bulbs in a place like this?"

After regaining her ability to move, Raye immediately removed the armor covering her right eye.

"Oh dear, it got foggy. But no matter! Watch this—the Great Ventilation Technique of Ryouko Sakurai! Press!"

The smoke did not last long. The small ventilation ducts distributed around the area cleared away most of it, rendering it ineffective as cover.

"Surrender, Raye. You truly have no chance of winning this time."

When the smoke cleared, Genjuro Kazanari stood not far in front of Raye. At that distance, he was confident he could subdue her no matter what she did.

"Chance of winning? What are you talking about? I've already won."

However, in response to Genjuro Kazanari's attempt to persuade her to surrender, Raye said this instead.

The Girl Gradually Entering the Unordinary

"What do you mean?"

Looking at Raye's calm face, utterly free of panic, Genjuro Kazanari asked instinctively.

"I mean exactly what I said. Just a reminder—why don't you confirm the location of Durandal?"

The blonde girl spoke the name without expression, her emerald-green right eye perfectly calm.

Upon hearing that name, Genjuro Kazanari and the others instinctively felt that something was wrong. They turned to look behind them, toward the room they had determined to be the target that had brought the girl before them here.

Through the doorway, which had somehow already been destroyed, they saw their objective: a broken sword. They also saw a white, polygonal portal that had appeared on top of it at some unknown point.

"The Multirole Sky Striker System can connect through me personally, but it can also connect to space through specially made Hornet Drones. It isn't as efficient as connecting through me, but... we made it in time."

Raye's voice explained what had happened.

As the blonde girl spoke, several small yellow-and-white aircraft that everyone had already become familiar with appeared beside the broken sword.

As if they had rehearsed this countless times, the small aircraft attached themselves to the broken sword and swiftly moved it into the portal. The entire process took only about three seconds, and no one had time to react.

"Durandal was just taken away?"

One of the men in black suits spoke unconsciously.

"But as long as we capture you, we haven't lost yet."

Genjuro Kazanari quickly realized that there was still a chance to salvage the situation. As long as they defeated and detained the blonde girl before them, they could learn the Relic's whereabouts from her.

"Unfortunately, you don't have that opportunity. I'm no longer interested in playing with you. The battle just now also served to keep your attention occupied."

After some words scrolled across the screen over her right eye, Raye said this. At the same time, a red, magic-circle-like pattern appeared beneath her feet, along with several pieces resembling broken crystal.

"What?!"

Genjuro Kazanari realized what she intended. Now that Durandal—that broken sword—had been taken from them, she clearly had no reason to remain here.

In other words, she was going to run.

"You gave me quite a few surprises this time. I'm looking forward to fighting you again. All right, this time I'm really saying goodbye."

With those words, the blonde girl, who had arrived only a few minutes earlier, vanished into thin air.

"Commander, what do we do now?"

Seeing this, the young man named Ogawa Shinji asked helplessly.

Bang—

"Back to the observation room. We still have to assist Tsubasa in eliminating those suddenly appearing noise, and we also have to receive the girl whose Relic awakening waveform has appeared."

After angrily punching the wall beside him, Genjuro Kazanari pulled himself together and said this.

Elsewhere, inside a black luxury car.

"Uwaaah, I really am cursed, aren't I?"

Tachibana Hibiki, who had previously insisted that she was merely an ordinary female high school student, was now in a state that was neither ordinary nor that of a female high school student.

"So why?"

Tachibana Hibiki sighed.

She had only wanted to buy a bonus CD featuring Tsubasa, but she had run into the special disaster called noise.

After finally escaping that wave of noise with the little girl she had encountered along the way, she ran into another huge group of noise.

Just when she thought she was about to die, armor had somehow emerged from her body and covered her.

When she thought she could escape the danger with the armor, a gigantic noise far beyond her imagination, along with a tremendous number of surrounding noise minions, shattered that fantasy.

Fortunately, while she was panicking, the blue-haired, tall, and well-built songstress she had always admired, Tsubasa Kazanari, suddenly rode her motorcycle onto the battlefield. She effortlessly wiped out all the noise, leaving Tachibana Hibiki panicked yet somewhat reassured.

However, just as all the monsters had been eliminated and Tachibana Hibiki thought she could leave, Tsubasa Kazanari, who had just helped her defeat the noise, appeared before her with an icy expression.

"You can't leave."

With those words, Tachibana Hibiki, who was still rather out of her depth, was handcuffed with magnetic cuffs and brought into the black luxury car that had appeared from who-knew-where.

"Is this a curse? I had just told someone that I was an ordinary female high school student, and then I immediately encountered something that was neither ordinary nor something a female high school student should experience. This really is a curse, isn't it?"

Tachibana Hibiki muttered this complaint to herself.

"Get out."

While Tachibana Hibiki was anxiously sitting there, the car door opened, and Tsubasa Kazanari stood outside and said this.

"Yes!"

Startled by Tsubasa Kazanari's inexplicably powerful presence, Tachibana Hibiki immediately... tumbled out of the car face-first.

"Ehehe, sorry..."

Tachibana Hibiki lifted her head from the ground somewhat awkwardly and smiled sheepishly.

"Haaah."

Faced with this, Tsubasa Kazanari sighed and helped Tachibana Hibiki to her feet with one hand, since the handcuffs made it difficult for her to stand.

"Thanks. Huh? Why are we at school? And isn't this the Central Building where the teachers live?"

After thanking the blue-haired girl who had helped her up, Tachibana Hibiki finally saw where she was. It was the Central Building for the teachers at the private Lydian Music Academy, where she had just enrolled.

"Don't ask so many questions. You'll know when we arrive."

Apparently unwilling to say more, Tsubasa Kazanari led Tachibana Hibiki into the Central Building.

"Why...? Ah, sorry."

Tachibana Hibiki instinctively tried to ask, but the other girl's sharp gaze immediately silenced her, leaving her to follow Tsubasa Kazanari meekly.

So why did Kanade's Gear end up on this idiot?

Looking at the restrained girl before her, Tsubasa Kazanari could not help thinking this.

Forget it. Once we reach the Second Division, I should be able to find out.

Thinking this, Tsubasa Kazanari began searching for the elevator leading to the Second Division. Since Ogawa had not come along for some unknown reason, she had to take Tachibana Hibiki there herself.

As she thought this, she arrived at the elevator she remembered and planned to use her identification card to take Tachibana Hibiki down to the Second Division. Then she saw...

"Um, Tsubasa, we aren't supposed to jump down through this shaft, are we...? Tsubasa?"

Tachibana Hibiki asked timidly as she looked at the completely empty elevator shaft.

The Girl Who Came to the Second Division

"Why was the elevator leading to the Second Division destroyed? Did something happen to the Second Division while I was out on a mission?"

Tsubasa Kazanari muttered anxiously, then instinctively tried to confirm the situation through communications.

"Hello? What happened? Why was Elevator 001 destroyed?"

Taking out a black box-like device, Tsubasa Kazanari spoke.

"Um, sorry. There was a slight accident, and Elevator 001 can't be used. So could you take that girl down through Elevator 004 first, Tsubasa?"

A reply like this came through the communicator not long afterward.

"Um, Tsubasa, were we originally supposed to take an elevator somewhere?"

Tachibana Hibiki realized that the situation before them seemed to be outside Tsubasa Kazanari's expectations.

"What exactly happened?"

"I'll explain after you come down, Tsubasa."

Tsubasa Kazanari did not answer Tachibana Hibiki's question, continuing to speak with the communicator instead.

"Um, Tsubasa?"

Tachibana Hibiki felt somewhat uneasy at being ignored.