by Yuu Miyazaki
“…Up, or down?” Saya prompted.
“Hmm. Either way,” Kirin said, “if the kidnapper is here, we shouldn’t split up. Better to stick together.”
“Yes, let’s.” Eishirou nodded emphatically. “I’m not much good in a fight.”
Saya gave him a judgmental stare.
“…This is where the man is supposed to say ‘Leave the fighting to me.’”
“Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses,” he replied breezily. “And besides, I did try.”
“Try what?”
“I’m not a fighter, so I called for someone who is. Well, I don’t know if he’ll come, but I did ask, so— What the hell is that?!”
They turned to see a writhing form rising from the shadow of a pillar.
“Is that…a person?” Kirin murmured, drawing the Senbakiri an inch out of its scabbard.
“…There’s mana concentrated in that spot,” Saya said. “Probably a conditional ability.”
Which meant it was probably a trap or a defensive measure.
It appeared to be a person at first glance, as Kirin had said, but it was merely shaped like one—jet black, as if someone’s whole shadow had been detached, and entirely smooth, with no clear front or back. Its arms ended in points like sharp horns, and it wasn’t difficult to imagine their purpose. But overall, it did resemble a human silhouette.
“Well, we must have come the right way. Good work, everyone.” Eishirou had already retreated to the wall. He really did mean to leave all the fighting to the girls.
The shadow stood still for a while without so much as a fidget—and then suddenly rushed at Kirin.
She calmly cut it down in a single stroke. With the stroke from the Senbakiri, the shadow disintegrated like sand scattering in the wind.
The shadow was fast, but the attack was simple and easy to predict—and most of all, it was fragile. It was no match for Saya or Kirin.
“Oh, it wasn’t that tough,” Eishirou said. “Even I could handle something like th—”
His expression froze mid-word.
Another shadow rose up from among the pillars. Then another, and then another.
“These things— How many can there be?” Kirin wondered.
“…No idea,” Saya replied.
The silhouettes rose up from every dark corner, and there were roughly fifty now. And still more were spawning.
“Ngh…!”
One after another, they attacked.
It took Saya barely an instant to activate a handgun Lux. She aimed rapid-fire to take down five shadows.
“Th-this has to be an autonomous ability! There’s no way someone’s controlling all of them individually!” Eishirou called, running across the hall to dodge the things.
That jogged Saya’s memory. She recalled something Ayato had told her:
Silas, one of Ayato’s earlier opponents, had seemingly possessed the ability to control over a hundred automatons—but he could only actually command a little over ten at a time. These shadows they were facing were not nearly as uniform.
“Things produced by autonomy abilities can only follow simple commands!” Eishirou added. “They’ve probably been ordered to get rid of any intruders!”
“…Makes sense. Then there’s no need to engage them all,” Saya stated.
She and Kirin still hadn’t recovered completely from the semifinal. Specifically, Kirin’s right leg was injured, and Saya’s prana had yet to fully replenish. Although these were weak enemies, the girls didn’t have the stamina to take down every last one.
“…Kirin. Hold them off for me.”
“Got it!”
They were perfectly coordinated. Kirin immediately saw what Saya had in mind, and took a step back and changed her stance in order to protect her.
Saya holstered the handgun and activated an enormous Lux with a large barrel.
In the semifinal match, more than half her arsenal was damaged badly enough to require repairs, but this one was relatively unscathed.
“Type 39 laser cannon Wolfdora—firing.”
She squeezed the trigger, and a stream of light shot out. It drained an enormous amount of prana from her, enough that her vision went dark for an instant, but she shook her head and pressed on.
The cylinder of light swept through the shadows with a roar. When the great hall was quiet again, only the three students were left standing.
“Whew…,” Saya sighed.
“Saya, are you all right…?” Kirin worried.
“…I’m good.”
She tried to put on a strong front for Kirin, but it was taking longer for her prana to recover than she’d thought. Considering that she had been running about since the semifinal with hardly any rest, this was only to be expected. Still, she admitted to herself that she might be in bad shape.
Using small Luxes like handguns was one thing, but Saya’s larger guns all used the Lobos transition method. Even one shot took as much prana as a Meteor Arts technique.
At this rate, I can only fire two or three more times at most…
As much as she wanted to thrash Flora’s kidnapper, in her current state, it might have been best to avoid combat as much as possible. If the kidnapper handed over Flora without incident, that would be ideal. A fight was probably inevitable, but—
“Hey, you two! I don’t think we can relax just yet!”
Saya looked up at Eishirou’s shout.
“More—?!” Kirin blurted.
Shadows were spawning again from behind the pillar. There were just as many as before—maybe more.
“There’s no end to this…!”
Saya could hear the apprehension in Kirin’s voice.
There was no option but to force their way through. The horde of shadows writhed between them and the stairs. Breaking past the things would be easy enough if they were at full strength, but in their current condition, success was much less certain.
Still, it would be much better than continuing to wear themselves out fighting.
“…Kirin, it’s a bit risky, but we have to cut through.”
“Yes. There’s no other way.”
Kirin was of the same mind, and they nodded to each other.
The shadows lunged at them like an avalanche. But just then—
“Tch! What’re you people doing?!”
A ferocious blast from the side annihilated the entire horde at once.
“Well, you’re finally here! It’s about time!”
Eishirou welcomed the newcomer with applause as Saya and Kirin stood, stunned.
“…Lester MacPhail… What are you doing here?” wondered Saya.
The irritably scowling newcomer was none other than Lester MacPhail, ninth-ranked fighter at Seidoukan Academy.
“Yabuki dragged me out here! You think I wanted to come?!” he shouted, holding a giant halberd Lux.
“Aw, c’mon, ‘dragged’ you? All I did was ask nicely.”
“Your idea of ‘asking nicely’ is threatening a guy’s weak point? That’s called blackmail!”
Of course. That did sound like Eishirou’s MO.
Still, Lester had just saved them. A new wave of shadows now faced the latest intruder. This was a chance they could not afford to miss.
“…MacPhail, we’ll leave it to you.”
“S-sorry about this! Thank you!”
The two bid their farewells—Saya plainly and Kirin politely and apologetically—as they cut into the swarm of shadows.
“What?! Hey, hold on!” Lester’s bewildered voice called from behind them, but they had no time.
“So, Kirin—up or down?” Saya asked as she opened a path with the handgun Lux.
“What do you think, Saya?” Kirin asked back, swinging the Senbakiri relentlessly.
“…Down.”
There was no reason behind her choice, just a hunch.
“I think so, too,” Kirin replied with a smile.
Meanwhile…
“Okay, MacPhail. Good luck.”
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Saya and Kirin vanished past the shadows, and then Eishirou too dashed away with a simple farewell.
Lester was left in the hall with the swarm.
It had all started last night. Eishirou had called him out of the blue and talked him into helping before he knew it.
Lester had no idea how the other boy had come by his secret, but that didn’t matter now.
Eishirou had explained the situation briefly, and Lester had little regard for anyone who would abduct a small child for their own ends.
What he did have, though, was plenty of frustration to vent after his elimination in the third round of the Phoenix.
“…Still, seriously—,” Lester muttered, hanging his head as the shadows rushed at him.
With a single swing of his halberd, he sent the swarm flying back.
The windows rattled as he bellowed at the top of his lungs. “How did I get stuck doing this alone?!”
Ayato checked the time and turned to his partner, who was on the prep room sofa with her eyes closed. “It’s about time, Julis.”
“…All right,” she replied curtly, then stood and stretched. “Well. No word from Saya and the rest of them.”
“…”
The pair couldn’t risk calling them without knowing the situation on the other end. And the fact that Saya and Kirin hadn’t tried to contact them was a bad sign.
But Julis only gave a quiet, helpless laugh. “Don’t look so defeated already, Ayato. Come on, let’s go.”
She opened the door.
How many times had he and Julis walked down this passageway leading to the arena? It felt like ages ago that they had first made this walk to their initial Phoenix match. But in reality, it had been only two weeks.
“You know, Ayato,” Julis murmured, “it’s good to have friends I can rely on.”
“Huh?” The unexpected words stopped him in his tracks.
She halted, too, and continued, as if she was thinking aloud. “The thing is…to me, Flora and everyone back home are more important than anything. I swore to do anything for them, and I thought they were all I needed. But, looking back, I can see that I was just closing myself off and making my world smaller. I understand that, now that I have a—a partner like you, Ayato.”
“Julis…”
“I can make more friends who are just as dear to me as the ones I have at home. Like Saya and Kirin.” Julis looked straight into Ayato’s eyes and smiled shyly. “Now, I can truly trust them. So don’t worry about me. I’m fine.”
“Okay… That’s good to hear.”
They started walking again, side by side, until they reached the stage.
Julis let out a short breath and squeezed her fists tight as they proceeded through the gate.
“And now, from the east gate, Ayato Amagiri and Julis-Alexia von Riessfeld! Over the last two weeks, we’ve seen all sorts of crazy battles in this Phoenix tournament, but we’re here at last—the championship!”
“Yep, can’t wait to see it.”
The flashes of light were blinding.
“It’s funny,” Julis said under her breath. “Even with all this going on…I really want to win this match.”
“Yeah, me too,” replied Ayato.
She nodded happily. “Then let’s give this our best shot. Let’s make all our wishes come true.”
“Every last one.”
Ayato and Julis gazed ahead at the two autonomous Puppets.
One, with a towering frame that seemed to pierce the sky, roared with laughter. “Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha! So we meet at last, Ayato Amagiri! I have been waiting so long for this moment!”
“Uh-huh…,” Ayato replied with significantly less enthusiasm.
“I have heard much about you from my master, and I have nothing but the highest expectations! I hope you will stir inside me an excitement greater than even Saya Sasamiya and Kirin Toudou did!” Ardy traced the katana scar that ran from his forehead straight down to his cheek, and his huge body trembled with glee.
“Well, I’m afraid I can’t promise that…” Ayato kept his expression neutral, though his opponent’s high spirits were a little off-putting. “But we’re going to win this match. No matter what.”
“Hmph! Those words are all the assurance I need!” Staring into Ayato’s eyes, Ardy nodded in satisfaction. “Now, I’ll just hope you are as worthy of respect as our previous opponents. And to—”
“The match is about to start, and here you are prattling on about nothing, you hulking oaf,” Rimcy interrupted coolly from beside him. “Your big lump of a body isn’t even fuel-efficient, so at least have some modicum of restraint. You could do us all a favor by not opening your mouth ever again.”
“Hrm… But clearly, now you’re speaking more than I am?”
“Were my instructions to stop running your mouth unclear?”
As a giant gun Lux materialized in Rimcy’s arms, Ardy at last clamped his mouth shut.
“…I knew they were weird, but for Puppets, they are truly bizarre,” Julis muttered, slightly amazed.
Ayato laughed. “I’m sort of glad we’re up against them for the championship, though.”
“Oh? Why is that?”
“Because we can face them without anything holding us back.”
Irene or the Jie Long twins, for instance, were strong enough to advance to the final, but either team would have made for a very different battle.
“Well, they’re worthy adversaries, that’s for certain.” Julis activated her Aspera Spina.
When Ayato activated a blade Lux, the arena erupted with murmurs of surprise.
“Wow, it looks like Amagiri is shelving the Ser Veresta again!” the announcer remarked.
“You kinda have to conclude that he can’t use it, rather than won’t,” quipped the commentator. “Orga Luxes, in general, are known for being difficult to handle, so. Especially the Ser Veresta. Could be they’re on the rocks.”
“There are rumors that an application has been put in for an emergency freeze— Oh, and we’re seconds away from starting! Ladies and gentlemen, here it is, the last match of the Phoenix! Which team will come out on top?!”
Ignoring the excited trilling of the announcer, Ayato concentrated. The match was to begin at noon exactly.
Three—two—one—
“Phoenix Championship Match—Battle Start!”
The crest on his chest gave the final announcement. Ayato unbound his power and headed straight to Ardy—
—with Julis at his side.
“Oh-ho!” Ardy crowed in anticipation.
“Hmm! Is Team Amagiri-Riessfeld trying to take out Ardy right away?!” the announcer wondered.
“It’s textbook strategy to focus on one opponent. But Riessfeld’s usually on defense—we don’t often see her come to the front,” noted the commentator.
The assessment was accurate. Ayato and Julis had determined that the most fearful aspect of facing the two Puppets was the actual combination, when they physically joined together to overwhelm Saya and Kirin.
The simplest way to deal with that was to defeat one of them first.
Considering their defensive abilities, it would be logical to target Rimcy first. But she had the flight module. If she were to escape to the air, the advantage of fighting two-on-one would vanish.
“Here we go, Julis!”
“Right!”
Ayato quickly steadied his breathing and readied his sword. There was no reason to hold back now. “Amagiri Shinmei Style, Middle Technique—Nine-Fanged Blade.”
A ninefold combination sequence with five thrusts and four different slashing strikes. It was the most difficult of the middle-level techniques, but Ardy’s barrier went up instantly to block each one.
The male robot laughed boastfully. “Too bad I already have the data on that attack!”
“…I thought you might,” Ayato replied.
“Hrm?”
Ardy was bewildered at his self-assured smile.
Ayato had used that t
echnique against Silas’s dolls. Ernesta had created those puppets, so it was no surprise that she had collected the data then and passed it on. He and Julis had already thought of that.
“Burst into bloom—Primrose!”
Immediately, a wave of intense heat rose up behind Ayato.
Ardy’s barrier was indeed like a shield—it could defend only a limited area at a time. What made it the Ultimate Shield was the capacity to fling it up instantaneously, in any direction.
But it would be difficult for him to defend against simultaneous attacks from multiple directions.
Ardy grunted as he swept aside the rushing flowers of flame with his giant hammer. Although Julis had activated her powers at much closer range than usual, her control was impeccable.
Meanwhile, Ayato stepped in for his next attack. “Amagiri Shinmei Style, First Technique—Twin Serpents.”
Naturally, he targeted Ardy’s school crest. But then—
“You must feel awfully confident to leave me unchecked.”
Before he could attack, a swirling stream of light approached Ayato and Julis from the side.
It was the Ruinsharif, the weapon embedded in Rimcy’s left arm.
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Ayato grabbed Julis by the hand to narrowly pull her away from the blast. “We’re keeping our eyes on you, too.”
“What?!” Rimcy was surprised enough that her eyes went wide—a rare occurrence. She must have thought that she’d attacked with perfect timing.
True, it would have been difficult for Ayato to dodge it under normal conditions. But now, with his power unleashed, his senses were broadened to their limits. He was able to take in all the information around him as if he were watching from above.
This was known in the Amagiri Shinmei style as the state of shiki.
Generally, it was more effective when facing multiple opponents. In one-on-one combat, it was not very useful and expended energy needlessly.
But Julis had come up with a daring plan that involved this technique.
As the commentator had pointed out, defeating one opponent to create a two-on-one situation was the most textbook strategy in two-on-two team battles. But that strategy came with the obvious risk of leaving one opponent free to attack from the side.