Sky Striker Ace, but Symphogear: Darkness Enshrouds

"So that's how it is."

Looking at the young girl before him, who still retained some immaturity but had already begun stumbling forward on her own path, Commander Kazanari began to ponder.

"Then, Tachibana, return to Second Division headquarters with the others as soon as possible, and protect yourself as best you can."

Then, under Hibiki Tachibana's serious gaze, Commander Kazanari gave Hibiki this arrangement.

"Huh?"

Hearing Commander Kazanari's arrangement, Hibiki voiced her confusion.

"Wait, Mr. Kazanari, I mean, I can fight alongside Miss Tsubasa."

Hibiki hurriedly explained.

"Yes, don't misunderstand. I know you want to do something to help us, Hibiki, but protecting yourself is the greatest help you can give us right now."

Commander Kazanari said.

"Ah, why?"

Hibiki was somewhat confused.

"Is it because Raye's target for this operation might be Hibiki, Genjuro?"

At that moment, Ryouko Sakurai suddenly spoke up from the side.

"Exactly. Based on her previous two operations, we can see that each of her actions tended to have a clear, valuable target, and she acted around that target."

"The first was the Bronze Serpent Armor, the second was Durandal, and the third must also be something of value. And within Second Division right now, the most valuable one is Tachibana, a rare case of fusion with a Biological Relic."

"So, Tachibana, do you understand now? You are important."

In response to Ryouko Sakurai's question, Commander Kazanari briefly explained to the confused Hibiki why he had made that arrangement.

"So Miss Raye appeared here because of me?"

Only after Commander Kazanari's explanation did Hibiki realize that she seemed to be more important than she had imagined.

"Exactly. Though I'm glad that you possess such resolve, as commander, I cannot allow you, a high-value target, to be casually exposed to danger."

Commander Kazanari agreed with Hibiki's conclusion.

Darkness Enshrouds

"Understood, Mr. Kazanari. I'll do my best."

"Good. Then let's move."

After Commander Kazanari and Hibiki said that, they prepared to carry out their respective tasks.

Commander Kazanari got into a sedan Shinji Ogawa had found. Hibiki was pulled away by Ryouko Sakurai, who said things like, "Let me show you my driving skills," while the other members of Second Division orderly prepared to board transportation back to headquarters.

They reacted quickly.

Watching the movements of Second Division's key personnel displayed on the screen over her right eye, Raye thought this. She had just successfully lured Tsubasa Kazanari away and was preparing for the next step.

If I hadn't prepared in advance, this would have been troublesome.

Leaning against a tree trunk and watching Tsubasa Kazanari grow more distant, Raye activated the device she had set up beforehand.

Bzzzt—

The next moment, explosive electrical crackling rang out from several nodes responsible for supplying power to the hot spring district.

Then, the electricity that had continuously brought convenience to human life ceased to exist in that district. In an instant, most artificial light sources throughout the area vanished.

Of course, damage at this level could be quickly repaired by a few skilled electricians with the right equipment. But even that would take time, and that time was enough for Raye to do what came next.

After that, I'll have to use the Staff of Solomon.

Once she confirmed that the device had activated successfully, Raye gripped the recovered Sky Striker, then took a silver-white staff-shaped object from a portal that appeared beside her.

I haven't analyzed it yet. If I prioritize precise control, I probably won't be able to command many of them. But it should be enough to create chaos and serve as a threat.

As she considered this, Raye looked at the staff-shaped object in her hand, paused, then crossed it with the Sky Striker in her other hand.

"What happened? Why did the power suddenly go out?"

On Second Division's side, Hibiki had just been about to get into Ryouko Sakurai's car when the sudden incident left her at a loss.

"It looks like the power lines were cut. That girl really doesn't give anyone a moment to catch their breath. Anyway, Hibiki, get in first. We may be getting busy soon."

Ryouko Sakurai said from the driver's seat. She pulled Hibiki into the passenger seat and turned on the headlights, temporarily driving away the darkness in front of the car.

At that moment, the streets that had once been ablaze with neon lights were shrouded in darkness due to the blackout. Though the scattered vehicles on the road and the glow spilling in from nearby areas that had not lost power kept the district from becoming completely invisible, visibility had indeed been greatly affected.

"Ah, Miss Ryouko, are you saying Miss Raye caused this blackout? But why would she do that?"

Hibiki asked in confusion.

"Who knows what she's planning? But since she's already made her move, this blackout is probably just a declaration of war."

Ryouko Sakurai replied as she started the car.

"A declaration of war? So Miss Raye is coming to fight us? But isn't she fighting Miss Tsubasa right now?"

Hibiki could not understand. She had clearly seen Tsubasa Kazanari charge toward Raye in the air, and Tsubasa really was fighting Raye.

If this was her declaration of war, then who was fighting Tsubasa Kazanari? It couldn't be that Tsubasa had failed to last even a few minutes before being defeated by Raye, could it?

"Who knows what she wants? But no matter what, we need to get you back to headquarters first, Hibiki. With the headquarters defense system I designed using Heresy Technology, there's no way she'll be able to take you away."

Ryouko Sakurai said confidently, then stepped on the accelerator and drove onto the road.

Though it was extremely dark because of the blackout, as long as they did not drive too fast, the headlights would keep them from having an accident.

"Ah, but didn't Miss Raye successfully infiltrate it before—ow, that hurt."

Hearing Ryouko Sakurai's confident words, Hibiki reflexively retorted, only to feel a heavy blow strike her head.

"Don't question me. That time was only meant to lure her into the encirclement. Though we didn't manage to trap her in the end... I've been continuously upgrading the security system for the past half month, so there's absolutely no way it'll be easily infiltrated like last time."

Ryouko Sakurai pulled her clenched fist back onto the steering wheel and made that assurance.

"Urgh, I understand."

Persuaded by Ryouko Sakurai's physical reasoning, Hibiki accepted her argument.

"Hehe, good that you understand, Hibiki. Hmm, we're almost at the district exit. You can already see the lit streets."

As the two chatted, their car reached the intersection at the end of the already short street. In the distance, they could see the glow of streetlights in an area unaffected by the blackout.

"That's true. Um, wait, Miss Ryouko, there seems to be something over there..."

Hibiki responded, then suddenly noticed something strangely colored wriggling out from a street corner as she shifted her gaze.

"What, what is that... That, that's Noise! A Noise disaster has appeared!"

Following Hibiki's indication, Ryouko Sakurai noticed the glowing object. The moment she recognized what it was, she realized what had happened.

"It's Noise. Not just here, there's Noise on the other side too. Why would Noise appear at a time like this?"

Hibiki, who immediately recognized them as well, reflexively pressed a hand to her chest.

According to Commander Kazanari's orders, she should protect herself. But if she stood by while Noise killed people, that would also betray the reason she had begun fighting.

"Hibiki, calm down. If something happens to you, all of Genjuro and the others' efforts will be wasted. These Noise may have appeared under little Raye's command. If you go out there now, you might be walking right into her trap."

Ryouko Sakurai tried to calm the agitated Hibiki. At the same time, she sharply turned the wheel, and under her control, the car made a sudden turn, narrowly avoiding a small group of multicolored Noise wandering in the road.

"But, Miss Ryouko, in a place like this, while Miss Tsubasa is fighting, I'm the only one who has the power to deal with Noise. I'm sorry, but I have to go."

Without question, Ryouko Sakurai was right. But if she could always remain rational, she would not be Hibiki Tachibana.

Balwisyall nesceell gungnir tron

An ethereal chant rose from the flaxen-haired girl's lips. The next moment, accompanied by the prelude of the song in her heart, yellow-and-white armor equipped itself onto the girl named Hibiki Tachibana.

Good night.

Encounter

As the armor attached itself, Hibiki jumped out of Ryouko Sakurai's car.

The song from Hibiki's heart rang out to the accompaniment of Symphogear.

Though I'm still not strong enough, if I kill even one Noise, I might save one more person.

With that thought in mind, Hibiki looked toward the small group of Noise she had just encountered.

"Come on! I won't let you hurt anyone!"

Hibiki shouted loudly, intending to draw the Noise's attention. Once these monsters noticed people, they would pounce on humans like zombies. This way, she could draw enough Noise to herself and prevent them from hurting others.

"Huh? What's going on? Why are these Noise so strange?"

Countless doubts arose in Hibiki's mind.

The reason for that was the behavior of the small group of Noise she had just encountered.

When Hibiki spoke up to draw their attention, they acted as though they had not noticed her at all, continuing to crawl toward some direction on their own.

"How strange. Why are these Noise ignoring me? Never mind. If they won't come over, then I'll go over and destroy them."

Holding to the belief that Noise had to be destroyed, Hibiki did not think much about it. She clenched her fist, quickly caught up to a Noise wriggling along the ground, and threw a punch at it.

Then Hibiki watched as her sure-hit punch, which should have struck the Noise without fail, completely hit the empty concrete road after the Noise made a seemingly precognitive, perfectly timed roll, giving the road maintenance workers another job to do.

"Huh?"

Watching the Noise dodge her attack, ignore her completely, and continue wriggling forward, the confusion Hibiki had been feeling instantly expanded to its limit.

"What is going on?"

Hibiki's past experience had been challenged. The Noise she had always fought were mindless monsters that relied on their speed, strength, and phase barrier to attack humans wildly.

She had never seen Noise like this, which not only did not blindly rush over to gang up on her, but even dodged her attacks.

"Could this be a new type of Noise?"

Hibiki thought.

There were many kinds of Noise, so it was possible that a more agile type existed.

While she was thinking, the Noise she had locked onto had already crawled several more meters in a certain direction and was about to turn into an alley.

"Ah, it's getting away! Wait, don't run!"

Noticing this, Hibiki pulled her fist from the concrete road, spread her legs, and chased after it. Before long, she caught up with the fleeing Noise once again.

"I won't let you dodge this time."

After having her attack dodged once, Hibiki learned from the experience. As she threw her punch, she stared closely at the Noise's movements, prepared to adjust the direction of her attack the moment it showed any sign of rolling away.

"I hit it!"

The sensation of striking the Noise traveled through her hand. With her full concentration, Hibiki successfully landed her attack.

"Next, I'll clean up the remaining Noise... huh?"

At the exact same moment Hibiki felt her fist connect, a sensation reached her side as well—a sensation called excruciating pain.

It hurts. It hurts so much. What happened? Is there another Noise behind me?

The unbearable agony and accompanying burning sensation made Hibiki realize that something was behind her. In the next moment, she reflexively tried to turn around and discover the source of the pain.

But she could not. At the same instant that thought arose, a violent shock rattled her brain. The next moment, countless golden stars filled Hibiki's vision, and her thoughts stalled for an instant.

Bang—

Unable to do anything, Hibiki fell face-first onto the ground.

"...So weak."

Behind the fallen Hibiki, Raye, the platinum-haired girl holding a black mechanical grappling anchor and preparing to fire it, voiced that complaint.

The intelligence gathered before indicated that she herself wasn't particularly strong, but this weak is still unexpected.

Looking at the girl lying prone on the ground, her entire body full of openings, Raye thought.

Then, without hesitating for even a moment, she activated the grappling anchor in her hand. The black mechanical claws shot out and instantly locked Hibiki's limbs tightly in place.

Next, amid sizzling electrical sounds, Hibiki's armor crackled a few times like an electronic device struck by an EMP, then lost power.

Originally, Raye had intended to use this grappling anchor to limit her opponent's combat ability while they were dazed by a sneak attack, creating an advantage.