Sky Striker Ace, but Symphogear

Thus, on the smoke-filled battlefield, Tsubasa Kazanari brought her sword down upon Raye. The fruit of her lifelong training, the strength of her entire life, and the blade she had honed day by day all blossomed at this very moment.

In that brief instant, sound, light, and heat as immense as a strategic bombing weapon bloomed like a crimson lotus within this confined area.

Every product of human civilization nearby was reduced to its most primitive state by the impact of that immense energy.

Then, after that earth-shattering explosion, thick smoke and dust shrouded the area. Before long, the cool evening wind dispersed the aftermath of the blast, revealing the final outcome of the battle to everyone present.

Once everything had cleared, the portals covering the sky had completely vanished. One corner of the once-prosperous hot spring district had been utterly erased from the map.

Of the battlefield where the fighting had just been so fierce, the only thing left was the blue-haired Defender standing alone amid the ruins.

"Miss Tsubasa."

After the tremendous shock had passed, Hibiki Tachibana immediately turned her gaze toward the center of Tsubasa Kazanari and Raye's clash.

"Are you all right, Tsubasa?!"

Commander Kazanari also cast a worried look in that direction.

"...I am a watcher who protects humanity."

Perhaps having heard the two of them speak, Tsubasa Kazanari, standing in the center of the ruins, responded in a trembling voice.

"Not a sword that can break at a time like this."

Then, forcing her body to turn around, she continued speaking, allowing Hibiki Tachibana and Commander Kazanari to see her current condition.

Bright red blood—the vital substance that should have remained inside her body to keep it functioning normally—continuously flowed from Tsubasa Kazanari's unfocused eyes and between her lips.

It was painfully obvious. After using such overwhelming power, Tsubasa Kazanari's condition was beyond dreadful.

[Huh?]

At the sight of this, Hibiki Tachibana's mind stopped working.

She did not know how she should react. Overwhelming sorrow and shock filled her entire heart.

As Hibiki Tachibana stood frozen in shock, Tsubasa Kazanari, having exhausted all her strength to say those two sentences, collapsed weakly to the ground like a bird with broken wings.

"Miss Tsubasa!"

The crushing reality had thrown Hibiki Tachibana's mind into chaos, leaving her able to express her feelings only through a scream.

"Commander Kazanari, sorry for the trouble. Evacuating the civilians took too much time, so we couldn't provide support in time."

At that moment, over a dozen Second Division members in black suits finally arrived after the battle had ended, late as police officers in some TV drama.

"No, your timing is perfect. Contact the relevant medical personnel immediately. Tsubasa just used the power of Swan Song. She needs the highest level of medical support!"

Unlike the helpless Hibiki Tachibana, Commander Kazanari, who had long prepared himself mentally, calmly began arranging Tsubasa Kazanari's rescue, even if those efforts might ultimately be futile.

"Yes, understood."

The Second Division members replied, then began dividing up their work and handling the various post-battle matters that needed to be dealt with.

"Miss Tsubasa... why? Why did Miss Tsubasa have to go through something so painful? Why? This is so strange."

Hibiki Tachibana spoke sorrowfully.

Everything she had experienced today erupted within Hibiki Tachibana's heart when she saw someone dear to her in such agony, now that the tense battle had finally come to an end.

"Things were so ordinary before. Why did they become like this?"

Hibiki Tachibana sank to her knees, her thoughts a complete mess.

"Hah... Tachibana, for now, let's go back. The battle is over. Tsubasa Kazanari merely did what she had always wanted to do."

Commander Kazanari gently closed his eyes. After a brief moment, he spoke to Hibiki Tachibana in a calm voice.

"At least she successfully defeated Raye. That means we have one less enemy to face."

Commander Kazanari spoke sorrowfully and shifted his gaze toward the direction Tsubasa Kazanari had attacked. At the end of the attack's trail, a black-and-red blade stood quietly embedded in the ground, while its owner was nowhere to be seen.

"..."

Hibiki Tachibana fell silent, seeming to think about something, yet seeming to think about nothing at all.

"Hah... Ogawa, retrieve that Relic. As a complete Relic, it has considerable research value."

Seeing Hibiki Tachibana in that state, Commander Kazanari could not bring himself to say anything more. He could only turn toward Shinji Ogawa, who had just crawled out of the rubble, and speak to him.

Since they had won the battle, naturally they would recover the spoils from their enemy.

"Mm, understood, Commander."

Covered in dust and wounds, Shinji Ogawa nodded beside Commander Kazanari, then hurried toward the black-and-red blade embedded in the ground.

"So this is the Sky Striker... Anyway, I'll retrieve it first."

Standing before the black-and-red blade, Shinji Ogawa looked at the Relic that had caused them so much trouble with a complicated expression. He extended his gloved hand, intending to pull it from the ground.

"Mm, wait, what is this?!"

Shinji Ogawa's expression changed.

Just as his hand was about to touch Sky Striker's hilt, the blade that had been quietly embedded in the ground suddenly erupted with an intense red light.

"(▼_▼#)!"

The next moment, the blade embedded in the ground suddenly rose into the air as if defying the laws of nature, hovering steadily in midair.

"What is this? Could it be an autonomous Relic?"

Faced with this scene that resembled a paranormal phenomenon, Shinji Ogawa made that guess.

"(+A)"

While Shinji Ogawa was still speculating, the hovering Sky Striker made another move. Its gravity-defying blade spun around with its hilt as the center.

"Ah—"

Shinji Ogawa, who had not reacted in time and was therefore unguarded, was struck down by the spinning Sky Striker as though it were whipping a top.

"Ogawa!"

Seeing Shinji Ogawa's condition, Commander Kazanari immediately strode over to his side while reaching out to seize the hyperactive Relic.

">M<"

However, although he successfully reached Shinji Ogawa, he failed to catch the Sky Striker that had knocked him down. The black-and-red blade performed a flourish in midair, elegantly evading Commander Kazanari's grasp.

"What exactly is going on with this Relic? Only Ryouko can study it... Wait, where is Ryouko?"

Commander Kazanari thought.

"0(≥V≦)0"

Just as Commander Kazanari was about to find Ryouko Sakurai and have her examine this highly individualistic Relic, he suddenly noticed that the blade, which had been spinning in the air, seemed to have found a direction and flew straight toward somewhere.

"Wait, wait! This thing can actually run away?!"

Seeing this, Commander Kazanari immediately stood up. They could not let such a dangerous Relic escape.

"-----"

However, things once again exceeded Genjuro Kazanari's expectations.

At that moment, the Relic he had thought was trying to escape stopped after moving some distance, beside a female Second Division member dressed in a black suit.

Then, the black-and-red blade began circling the woman, who appeared to be a Second Division employee, like a large pet dog.

"What exactly is going on?"

This bizarre scene made cold sweat form on Genjuro Kazanari's forehead as a troubling possibility involuntarily arose in his mind.

"Sigh..."

The "girl who appeared to be a Second Division employee" let out a helpless sigh after Sky Striker made that move.

"Seriously, couldn't you have endured it a little longer? If you had just held out for a moment, I could have used this chance to disappear from Second Division's sight for a while."

The "girl who appeared to be a Second Division employee" raised a finger and lightly tapped the Sky Striker circling around her, making it stop as she gently scolded it.

"So it really is you, Raye."

That behavior confirmed Genjuro Kazanari's troubling suspicion.

"Wait, Mr. Kazanari, what did you say? That's impossible. How could she be Miss Raye? Miss Raye, she was just hit by Miss Tsubasa's attack..."

Before the "girl who appeared to be a Second Division employee" could answer, Hibiki Tachibana suddenly rushed over from somewhere, speaking with an agitated expression.

Originally, Sky Striker's movements had merely caught her attention. But when Commander Kazanari spoke those words, she approached without knowing why, unable to stop herself from saying them.

Because if Raye had truly survived even after Tsubasa Kazanari used such an attack, then what had all of Tsubasa Kazanari's fighting and efforts amounted to?

She had fought so hard for justice, paid such a painful price to use that attack, and in the end accomplished nothing. That would be far too tragic for Tsubasa Kazanari.

"Mm, although I would like to say Hibiki Tachibana is right, I don't think Mr. Kazanari would believe that. Even if he did, I probably wouldn't be able to keep my identity after facing a strict investigation."

The "girl who appeared to be a Second Division employee"—Raye—completely ignored Hibiki Tachibana's emotions and spoke those words as if nothing had happened.

As she shattered the remaining illusion in Hibiki Tachibana's heart, she also planted deep fear and despair within it.

"(w°...)"

"So, that's that."

Then Raye stretched out her hand and gripped the hilt of Sky Striker, which had been affectionately rubbing against her.

The next moment, the girl in the black suit with the unfamiliar face vanished in a flash of light. In her place stood a cute girl with long platinum-blonde hair, dressed in a military uniform and black stockings, with a technological device over her right eye.

"So what Tsubasa Kazanari destroyed earlier was something like a decoy."

Commander Kazanari calmly made that assessment.

At that moment, Raye bore almost no signs of battle. If the one on the battlefield had been Raye's actual body, she could not possibly have emerged unharmed from Tsubasa Kazanari's Swan Song.

"Well, that's basically it. I used a decoy like this."

Raye spoke casually. At the same time, a portal appeared beside her, and under the wary gazes of the other two, several Hornet Drones flew out. The Hornet Drones gathered together, and before long, they formed the familiar figure of Raye.

"Since I'm in a good mood today, I'll introduce it. This is Yellow Drone Units Level One, created through various Heresy Technologies. It can generate a one-to-one projection of my body, though it has no combat ability."

Raye said.

"Ah... ah... ah!"

Hibiki Tachibana did not know what to say.

At this point, no matter how much she deceived herself, Hibiki Tachibana could no longer maintain her flimsy hopes. She had even realized that Raye had swapped her real body with the decoy amid the smoke during that instant of their fight.

P.S. Good afternoon.

Ignoring

On a dark, lightless night, a girl holding a black-and-red blade stood alone amid the ruins after the battle. Before her stood two people with very different expressions.

"Tachibana."

Commander Kazanari noticed the despair in the girl beside him, but he had little energy to spare for her at the moment.

Although Raye had not shown any hostility so far, if they let their guard down around her, she likely would not mind causing them some trouble.

"Mm, it looks like she still hasn't adapted to high-intensity combat. Her mental state became this unstable from just that much."

Raye looked at Hibiki Tachibana, who was trembling all over yet could not summon even a trace of strength, and made that evaluation.

"What? Are you planning to take Tachibana away now? Then you'll have to step over my body first."

Genjuro Kazanari stepped forward and shielded Hibiki Tachibana behind him, separating her from Raye. Hibiki Tachibana currently had no will to face Raye.

"Take Hibiki Tachibana away? No, no, no, you misunderstand. Although I haven't given up on completing my mission, in terms of the actual circumstances, I was already unable to complete it today when Hibiki Tachibana went berserk."

In response to Genjuro Kazanari's wary behavior, Raye merely stroked her Sky Striker as she denied his suspicion.

"What did you say?"

Genjuro Kazanari asked reflexively.

"I mean exactly what I said. Your weakness appeared too suddenly, so even I did not have time to make many preparations. On top of that, Hibiki Tachibana going berserk was an unexpected development. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't have taken Hibiki Tachibana away perfectly."

Raye added.

Originally, according to her calculations, her remaining armaments were just enough to handle any unforeseen circumstances during the process of capturing Hibiki Tachibana. But Hibiki Tachibana's berserk state forced her to use more equipment than expected, causing the risks of forcibly taking Hibiki Tachibana away and keeping her secured afterward to rise sharply.

"So, when Hibiki Tachibana went berserk, I had already given up on taking her away. Everything I did afterward was merely to complete my secondary objective: inducing Tsubasa Kazanari to use Swan Song, reducing your combat strength while collecting some data on Swan Song."

Raye said this as though merely chatting, openly laying out the purpose behind all her previous actions.