Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 16 - Chapter 4

The Invaders’ Battlefields

Sunday, July 4th

Theia and the surface troops got into position fifteen minutes after Kiriha vanished. They had snuck up to the northern part of the island near the radical faction’s base, and were observing it from there.

“It’s smaller than I thought.”

That was Shizuka’s first impression upon seeing it. The base surrounded by a steel fence was larger than Corona House, but far smaller than Kisshouharukaze High School. Shizuka had imagined an enormous compound like something out of a movie, so this was a bit of a letdown. Lit up in the dark of night, it has something of a lonely, austere impression to it, making it look even smaller.

“Shizuka-sama, that is just the entrance. Most of the facility is built underground so that it won’t stand out.”

Ruth smiled and showed Shizuka a hologram on her bracelet. It was a hypothetical 3D model of the facility that Ruth and Clan had put together by analyzing the information they’d gathered. It showed that the top part of the base was just the tip of the iceberg, with the remaining 90 percent underground.

“I see. I guess it is a secret base, huh?”

Since it was built to house a weapon of mass destruction, it was designed to be as covert and unobtrusive as possible. Considering the technology available to the surface dwellers—including observation satellites—it was a matter of course for them to build the majority of the base underground to avoid detection. Since they weren’t planning on using aircrafts or other such vehicles here, there was no inconvenience to them in doing so.

“Too bad we’re about to blow this secret wide open. Men, are you prepared?”

Theia and the others would be raiding the base and destroying the earthquake weapon, Earth Dragon, that should be inside. They had avoided contact with the enemy until now, but that was about to change. They’d have to defeat the enemies in their way to complete their objective from here on out.

“Anytime. I’m ready to fight. Even if I’m going up against Maya-sama.”

Maki strongly grasped her staff and nodded. The moment they landed on the island, she had prepared herself for a battle against her master, Maya. There was no sign of hesitation in her eyes. And if she lost against the radical faction’s soldiers, there was no way she could win against Maya, so she didn’t fear a battle against them either.

“You can count on me, Theia-chan. I’d much rather be fighting than anxiously sneaking around like this.”

Shizuka was more than ready for a fight. With her invincible body and earnest attitude, she’d be much more comfortable in battle than worrying about blowing their cover.

“I’m starting to get nervous.”

“Calm down, Kotaro. If you let your nerves get the better of you, you won’t even be able to do things you normally can.”

“But you’re trembling too, Hayato-niichan.”

“Kotaro, Hayato, we’re all scared. That’s why we fight together. Right?”

“Kenichi is right. Let’s focus on doing what we can.”

“Yeah. That way, our triumphant victory feast will taste all the more delicious!”

This battle was different from the small skirmishes the Sun Rangers had been in before. It would be a fight to determine the fate of the world—both above and below ground—and the Sun Rangers were all appropriately nervous. But that was part of the beauty of it. They were confronting their fears together, and each helping to support the others in their time of need. And the sight of it gave courage to the conservative faction soldiers around them. That kind of inspiration was probably the true essence of real heroes, but the Sun Rangers seemed unaware of it.

Next, reports that preparations were complete came from one squad after another. Confirming that her entire team was ready, Theia nodded.

“We were all born and raised in different places, but we must win this battle no matter what—that is what ties us all together. Now, let us forget our differences and band together! It doesn’t matter how ungraceful our fight is; we will destroy the Earth Dragon and come out victorious! Men, follow me!”

At Theia’s dauntless declaration, her eighty-eight allies replied in unison...

“Yeah!”

Aliens, a magical girl, a normal high school girl, the Sun Rangers, and a troop of underground soldiers. They came from different walks of life, but they now they were all walking down the same path together.

Theia made the opening move. Far surpassing the others in terms of firepower, she was cut out for exactly that job. That’s why she began her attack as she jumped through the bushes.

“Blue Knight, multi-launch surface-to-surface missiles! Destroy that annoying fence!”

“As you wish, my princess.”

Obeying to Theia’s orders, two large hexagons appeared slightly above and behind her shoulders. They were missile launchers, and as soon as they were ready, their launch ports opened and fired their missiles—six apiece. The twelve missiles headed straight up from Theia before curving downward towards the radical faction’s base.

Their target was the fence around the base specifically, and with a series of loud booms, the steel fence was blown clean away. With that, nothing else stood between them and the base.

“Ruth!”

“Yes! Deploying distortion field!”

Ruth took over the front line and deployed the barrier built into her armor over a wide area. She would serve as the group’s shield until they reached the entrance to the base. True to her title as guardian knight, it was a fitting role for Ruth.

“Mirror Image. Modifier: Effective Area, Large.”

Maki’s specialty, mind manipulation, included illusion magic as well. She created copies of all eighty-nine members of their team and placed those copies around the real ones. In doing so, she made it seem like their force was much bigger, and simultaneously lowered the odds of any one person being hit by an attack. It was a very calculated way of defending.

“Let’s close in before they can recover! Run as fast as you can!”

Following Theia’s orders, the surface troops advanced as one. In total, there were about ten radical faction soldiers protecting the entrance. They had been thrown into disarray by Theia’s sudden missile strike, but they wouldn’t stay panicked forever. Once they had their wits about them, they would call for backup and counterattack. Theia and the others needed to close the distance before that happened.

“Your Highness, they’re firing!”

At around a hundred meters out from the base, small sparks began flying off of Ruth’s barrier from where bullets were striking it. It seemed the radical faction had officially begun their attack. While it wasn’t much of a problem right now because their numbers were so few, once the backup arrived, things could get much more dangerous. Having judged the situation thusly, Theia gave her next orders.

“Blue Shine, shoot that cable that’s coming out from the lookout post!”

“Leave it to me! Kotaro!”

“Got it! Live ammunition loaded. Night vision scope activated. Distance: 180. Wind is northwest at a velocity of two meters. Humidity is 55 percent.”

Blue and Green temporarily broke rank to get into sniping position. Partially because they were using Forthorthian weaponry, their preparations were swift. In a matter of seconds, they already had the target in sight.

“Nii-chan, that weapon doesn’t need corrections, so just shoot!”

“Firing!”

The bullet left the rifle along with a solemn sound. And since it was travelling at over a thousand meters per second, it had already hit its target by the time that sound could be heard. The bullet flew straight on course, easily severing the cable extending from the lookout post and destroying the roof behind it.

“Direct hit!”

“All right! Let’s go, Kotaro!”

“Yeah!”

Done with their sniping, the two Shines got to their feet and quickly caught up to Theia and the others. Theia had a satisfied smile on her face and praised their work.

“Well done, Sun Rangers! With this, their reinforcements will be delayed!”

The cable that Theia’d had them shoot was a communications line. It was both their link to call for reinforcements, and how they relayed camera feeds. With it destroyed, reinforcements would have to wait until they switched to an emergency line—which should be just long enough for Theia and the others to reach the entrance to the base.

“Your Highness, I’m detecting metal up ahead! It’s a minefield!”

Ruth was relaying warnings from her bracelet. The area just outside of the fence had apparently been littered with landmines up to about ten meters, which would make quick, messy work of any intruders who thought that the fence was their only problem.

“What a nuisance! Blue Knight, fire all the remaining missiles! Open a path for us!”

“As you wish, my princess.”

The missile launchers hovering over Theia’s shoulders fired a second round of missiles. All twelve of them rained down on the minefield. There was an even grander explosion than before, which kicked up a cloud of dirt and debris that concealed the entrance of the base from sight. The blast shook the ground like an earthquake, rattling even the nearby trees.

“The way is clear!”

“Men, we’re pushing through!”

Theia and the others charged the minefield before the smoke had even settled. The shockwave from the blast assaulted them as they ran in, but thanks to Ruth’s sturdy barrier, they were all unharmed. With the minefield blown away, there was no longer anything keeping them from entering the grounds to the base.

“Theia-chan, they’re lying in wait for us!”

But they were still in danger, as Shizuka sensed enemies past the lingering smoke. It seemed the enemy had realized that Theia was clearing a path to the base by blowing away the minefield, and they’d decided to wait for her there.

“Don’t worry!”

As Theia shouted that, ten radical faction soldiers appeared through the smoke. They weren’t incompetent. After seeing what Theia had done to the minefield, they’d switched from rifles to grenades and bazookas. Ruth’s barrier was powerful, but it couldn’t protect against attacks from below or above, which was exactly what they were aiming for now.

“Maki!”

“Flash!”

The next moment, Maki in the rear unleashed a spell that created an intensely bright flash of light. As since the radical faction soldiers were all watching the approaching group, they all got an eyeful. The light was so bright that their night vision goggles were rendered useless, effectively leaving the soldiers blind.

“Now, attack!”

The radical soldiers hurriedly removed their night vision goggles, but it was already too late. They were all shot by the conservative faction troops and lost consciousness.

When the ground team entered the base, they immediately found a tunnel leading underground at a gentle incline. It was about twenty meters wide, and was illuminated by intermittent lighting. Assuming that it was meant to accommodate trailers, it was quite well made for the job.

The large weapon on Theia’s left arm, her mechanical pile driver, let out a belch of exhaust. She had just fired it to destroy the entrance gate. Using the weapon at full power generated a great deal of steam as exhaust, and standing tall amidst it, Theia gave off a rather powerful impression.

“Um, Devil Princess-san, wouldn’t it be better if we infiltrated the base more quietly according to plan?”

In awe of Theia’s overwhelming power, Red Shine timidly offered his opinion on the operation. According to their original plan, the surface team would infiltrate the base cautiously. Since this was unknown enemy territory, everyone agreed it would be best to move slowly and steadily. But now they were rushing in with brute force. Things had gone well so far, but there was no guarantee that would continue to be the case.

“I would like to, but... hearing how the situation underground is going, that’s not an option.”

“Is it that bad?”

It was there that Blue Shine joined the conversation. Amongst the Sun Rangers, he had the most tactical and military knowledge.

“Indeed. The radical faction lost their patience waiting for an answer and attacked. If we don’t destroy the earthquake weapon before the conservative faction gets into position for a proper counterattack, things will get ugly.”

“And the conservative faction has to counterattack or else, huh?”

“That’s right. Which is why we don’t have the time to take things easy here.”

“Hayato...”

“Steel yourself, Kenichi. This is the decisive moment.”

“...Right. Let’s do our best since we don’t have any time to spare.”

With Theia and Blue in agreement, Red had no objections. He trusted in his teammate. Besides, they were already in enemy territory. Taking their time here very well may be a fatal mistake.

“Men, from this point onward, we move in squads. Do not move on your own under any circumstances.”

They had moved as a unified group thus far, but now they would break into their respective squads. Each girl from room 106 would lead a unit of twenty conservative faction soldiers. That would be their smallest denomination now, with the exception of the Sun Rangers who would act as a flying column, striking at the enemy weak spots or backing up their allies where needed. Maintaining that composition would be essential for them to come out victorious.

After forming up their squads, the surface team proceeded down the tunnel. After about a hundred meters, the tunnel came to an end and their view opened up. The tunnel was connected to a large cave created by the People of the Earth’s technology. It was several hundred meters wide, and despite being underground, it was completely lit up. A globe like the sun itself illuminated the entire cave from overhead.

“It seems like the Earth Dragon is in there.”

In the middle of the cave, directly underneath the globe, was a building resembling a warehouse. It was over a hundred meters across, and since they knew the Earth Dragon was, according to its design plans, several dozen meters in size, it seemed like the ideal place to keep it.

“I’m reading a big energy reaction from there as well. It is almost certainly in that building.”

The computer in Ruth’s armor estimated the energy within the building from the trace amounts leaking out. According to those calculations, it was enough energy to support a city—all coming from within the building.

“It looks like they’re getting serious as well.”

Shizuka could spy armed radical faction squads standing between them and the base, far outnumbering the guards they’d had on the surface. They had over a hundred men in addition to mechanical soldiers, automated soldiers, and assault vehicles. Their formation was solid as well, with the mechanical and automatic soldiers in the front with assault vehicles behind them. Their human soldiers were stationed all the way in the back to provide support for the machines.

“It looks like they never intended to help the troops on the surface. They wanted to settle this down here.” That was the conclusion Maki reached upon seeing what Shizuka did.

The girls had been worried about the radical faction trying to cut them off at the tunnel, so they’d pushed through before they had the chance. But doing that would have only helped the radical faction if they were relatively matched for numbers. With the radical factions far outnumbering the surface team, then they could fight in an open space to make use of their superior numbers. There was no point to fighting in a narrow space that would restrict them.

“So they think they can win in a frontal attack, do they? Ha! I’ll make them pay for underestimating me.”

Theia flashed a chilling smile. While she had grown physically and mentally since coming to room 106, she still had her pride. Nowadays she was more easygoing with her friends and could even joke around, but she would never forgive an enemy who dared to belittle her. And right now, the thought that the radical faction was looking down on her enraged her.

“Now, now. We would never underestimate you, Princess Theiamillis,” said a voice from a nearby speaker.

“That voice is...!”

“Elexis!”

It was a voice familiar to both Theia and Ruth. Indeed, it was Ruth’s former fiancé who’d betrayed them in the end. He was a man that Ruth would never forgive.

Shortly after his voice came through the speaker, a half-transparent hologram of Elexis appeared in front of Theia and the others. He was as refined and handsome as usual, which rubbed both Theia and Ruth the wrong way.

“I assure you it’s because we aren’t underestimating you that we’ve chosen to fight here, where we can bring our full force to bear. After all, doing so on the surface would have drawn a little too much attention.”

Theia and Ruth were surprised by Elexis’s sudden appearance, but it also explained a great deal. For example, why the technology the radical faction was producing weapons with was so exceptionally high.

“You bastard... How dare you show your face to me? And as an ally of the radical faction, no less.”

Theia angrily glared at the hologram. To her, Elexis wasn’t simply just any enemy. He’d tried to kill Koutarou, which made him the worst of the worst. Her sharp glare seemingly pierced through the hologram and reached Elexis directly.

“I misjudged you. Goals and means aside, I believed you at least had your pride.”

Ruth felt the same way, and she sent a squally chilling glance at Elexis.

“You wound me... However, we do have a goal. It’s something we have to accomplish, even if it means me casting aside my pride.”

“‘We’? Could it be... Are you working together with Maya-sama?”

Maki had been silently listening in, but she sensed Maya’s involvement in Elexis’s nonchalant comment. And with that, she could stay quiet no longer.

“Whoops, you were Maya’s apprentice, weren’t you? What a careless thing of me to say.”

Elexis had a happy smile on his face. He had really taken quite a liking to Maya. When he was with her, unexpected things happened one after another—including Maki’s appearance now.

“Is Maya-sama here?!”

“That’s not for me to say. Koutarou-kun has gotten angry at me for not treating my allies well before. But I think you’ll find out if you make it all the way to me.”

“Then I’ll be right there. So just you wait.”

“There you have it! Now, brace yourself, Elexis! Now that we know that you’re here too, we definitely won’t back down! We’ll make you regret crossing us!”

“I’ll prepare some snacks and tea and await your arrival, princess.”

With that, Elexis cut the hologram and the speakers fell silent. Not a moment later, the radical faction troops began advancing. Seeing that, Theia ordered her allies to do the same.

“Let’s go, men! We’ll disperse these pests, beat down Elexis, and destroy the Earth Dragon!”

And so the surface team’s battle began.

The underground city built by the People of the Earth, Sial, was intended to become a second home to them. It was a monument to their traditions and culture, and even bore the name of their original home. And in fact, many of the People of Earth grew to consider Sial their home.

Yet now, Sial was burning. While Kiriha was being taken to the radical faction’s base, she could see the flames through the window of the car. Bullets were flying through the streets, and wounded citizens lay on the ground. The executive branch of the People of the Earth’s government had been hit first, leaving the city paralyzed. Explosions were erupting all over, and more than half of the temples to the Goddess of Creation had been blown away.

The nation, their traditions, their history, theirs beliefs... even the people themselves. The very identity of the People of the Earth was being trampled on the path to ruin. But what made the problem even more complicated was that it was other People of the Earth who were responsible for this.

To the radical faction, the city of Sial was not a symbol of tradition, but a symbol of defeat and humiliation. Despite having superior technology, the People of the Earth had been robbed of their homeland and chased underground. They’d done the proud thing and refused to take up arms against the surface dwellers, but the radical faction rued that decision. To them, Sial was nothing more than a prison. That’s why they believed returning to the surface and reclaiming their land wasn’t wrong—it was justice. And to that end, they had no objections to using military force. In fact, they believed it was their right. Moreover, they ultimately believed that being ruled by superior people would make the surface dwellers happy as well. It was only just for them to take their rightful place on the surface—or so the radical faction believed.

The radical faction had been unhappy ever since the People of the Earth had been driven underground. They had no love for Sial. At best, it was just a refugee camp. Which was why they wouldn’t hesitate in destroying it as a means to regain their real homeland—the surface.

So in essence, the current battle was a civil war between two parts of the People of the Earth’s heritage. A tragic crisis of identity. One they hadn’t been able to resolve among themselves. And at this rate, it would be a tragedy that spread to the surface.

In the face of that, Kiriha didn’t fear for her own life. And after seeing the state of the city, her resolve only grew stronger. A strong light shone in her eyes even as stood face to face with Maguz.

Kiriha had been taken to the radical faction’s base, which was located in the oldest neighborhood of the new district. The radical faction had formed a long time ago, so their secret base had been around for quite a while. Originally, the area where it stood was supposed to be designated as part of the old district and abandoned as well, but members of the radical faction with administrative power had secretly removed it from the list. It would stand out too much if people were visiting a particular area of the old district time and time again, after all. The conservative faction was also wary of a radical base being built in the old district. But little did they know the radical faction already had a base—right under their noses. Thanks to that, this neighborhood was effectively in their blind spot, allowing the radical faction to continue operating in the shadows unbeknownst to the conservative faction.

“Kasumi Raiga... To think that you were Maguz...”

“If you stand behind the light, nobody can see you... It’s a proverb from this cursed underground, but it is unmistakably true.”

Meeting Kiriha in the deepest lair of the radical faction’s base, the command room, was Kasumi Raiga. He was suspected of being involved with the radical faction, but as it turned out, the truth ran deeper than that. Not only was he involved with the radical faction, he was actually their mysterious leader, Maguz.

Kiriha stood in the center of the command room facing Maguz, who was sitting in the commander’s seat. Her hands and feet were chained, leaving her unable to move. On top of that, there were armed soldiers surrounding her. As a result, the chances of her breaking free were nonexistent.

“Have you ever even considered how the light felt?”

Kiriha glared at Raiga—at Maguz—with angry eyes. Despite being in such a disadvantageous situation, her resolution remained firm. She was the acting commander of the surface invasion. She would never show weakness to the enemy.

“I have. That’s why I tried so hard to make him understand.”

Despite being showered with Kiriha’s angry words and dirty looks, Maguz showed no sign of minding any of it. Instead, he smiled. In a few years, he would be in his forties, but his smile was overflowing with the innocence of youth. Seeing it, Kiriha suspected that a great deal of people had been drawn in by it.

“However, I have run out of time for that. In the end, my message never reached my father’s heart. How truly regrettable.”

Maguz sadly lowered his shoulders. He wasn’t lying. The man known as Maguz honestly regretted not being able to recruit his father.

“Of course. How could the distant words of some unknown stranger reach Kouma’s heart? If you had spoken to him as Raiga, he might have listened.”

“What did you say?! You impudent little girl!”

The words “unknown stranger” hadn’t angered Maguz, but Tayuma who was standing next to him. He shouted at Kiriha like he was about to maul her right then and there. He was indeed a loyal dog.

“How dare you talk to Maguz-sama like that?!”

“I don’t mind, Tayuma.”

“But—”

“It’s fine, Tayuma. What she says is true.”

“Maguz-sama...”

Angry as he was, when Maguz said something, Tayuma reluctantly closed his mouth. He looked like a dog that had been scolded by its owner.

“Indeed, it is as you say. If I had personally tried to convince my father, he might have joined our cause. But obeying your child’s wishes is not the same as true understanding. And that would have been unfortunate.”

Maguz struck back. He seemed neither angered nor shaken up. He had a perfectly composed argument. In a way, he behaved himself in a manner befitting the Kasumi family heir. That rubbed Kiriha the wrong way.

“You have no ground to stand on. That argument would only be valid if you’d actually spoken to Kouma directly. And you didn’t, meaning your grand words now are all hollow.”

“As expected from the daughter of the Kurano family... How strict. However, if I had spoken to my father directly, he would have realized my identity even if I’d hidden my face. So if I’d failed to convince him there, it would have all been over. That wasn’t a risk I could take.”

“You’ve shown your true colors, Raiga.”

With her stern eyes still trained on Maguz, a smile appeared on Kiriha’s lips. It was a callous smile she never would have shown Koutarou and the other girls of room 106.

“There is no justice in you. All this is only for your own convenience.”

Fearing being exposed, Maguz had never tried talking with Kouma himself. And the moment he’d made that decision, there was no justice to be found in him or his cause. Justice never gives up before trying. Even children knew that.

“Tch...”

There, the confidence vanished from Maguz’s face for the first time. Unable to come up with a rebuttal to Kiriha’s declaration, his expression grew displeased. Justice was a grave concern for the radical faction because they believed themselves to be righteous. They had resorted to military force precisely because they believed justice was on their side. So for Kiriha to offer a direct challenge to that, Maguz was a bit shaken.

“...Then I shall do so the next time I meet with my father.”

However, Maguz soon recovered. After helping his father with his work for so long, he was skilled at dealing with people and negotiations. He wouldn’t let his emotions get the better of him.

“So you’ll capture Kouma, deprive him of his freedom, and force him to listen to you? That’s some idea of justice, Raiga.”

“That sharp mind and insight of yours... I should have talked to and made you an ally sooner.”

“There’s no point. That would only have been possible more than eleven years ago.”

Any kind of persuasion would have been useless on Kiriha after she met Koutarou. She would never do anything that might bring harm to the surface, and she would never have followed Raiga, who sought to do exactly that.

“Hmm, more than eleven years ago...? I wouldn’t have thought to make you an ally back then. So it sounds like we would have ended up like this regardless.”

“Yes, you being taunted by a young girl was something that was decided eleven years ago.”

“Then let us end this roundabout discussion. I’d prefer not to lose any more ground.”

Maguz’s smile vanished and he rose from his seat to face Kiriha. Being taller, he looked down on her, which gave him an even more overpowering impression.

“We have captured Chief Daiha. Surrender at once and have your troops cease their attacks. If you do, I guarantee both your and Chief Daiha’s safety.”

“What value does a guarantee from a man with no justice hold?”

“...I don’t think you have any choice but to believe in it.”

Maguz’s glance grew colder and colder. His feelings towards justice were strong.

“Before all that, is the chief even still alive?”

That was the most important question for Kiriha. Nothing else could happen before she confirmed that.

“A fair point. Tayuma.”

“Yes, sir. Indigo warrior, bring Kurano Daiha to us.”

Tayuma called to outside the room. When he did, a door opened to the room and a lone woman entered.

“Okay, okay, you sure know how to work a woman to the bone, really...Go on, it’s your turn.”

The woman wore a rather revealing indigo outfit. Seeing her and hearing her voice, Kiriha couldn’t escape the feeling that they’d met somewhere before.

“Father!”

“Kiriha?!”

But it only lasted for a moment. She lost all interest in the woman when she saw Daiha enter the room. Her heart was filled with emotion at their reunion.

“I’m glad to see you well...”

Confirming that her father was safe, Kiriha let out a huge sigh of relief.

“Why did you come, Kiriha?! You knew what would happen if you did!”

However, Daiha’s reaction was the opposite. He was in a panic to see his daughter in the enemy base. Even as chief, he wasn’t the kind of father who could remain calm knowing his daughter’s life was in danger.

“But you’re my only family.”

“I see... You’re right, Kiriha...”

But in the end, he ended up accepting her decision. After losing her mother as a child, Kiriha would never abandon Daiha. She had stronger feelings about family than most girls her age, and Daiha knew that better than anyone.

“I’m sorry, Kiriha... Because of me, even you’ve gotten...”

“No, it’s fine this way...”

Tears started forming in Kiriha’s eyes. It was that much of a relief to see her father’s face. Regardless of what fate lay ahead of them, they would at least be together. But one thing was for certain—neither of them would make it out of this alive.

“Now then, let us hear your answer, Kurano Kiriha! Do you surrender, or do you choose death?”

“Surrender is not an option. We are the proud People of the Earth. If you want to kill us, then just go ahead.”

Kiriha was in a horrible situation, but fortunately she’d at least been able to reunite with Daiha. And after getting to see her father one last time, she wished for nothing else. She wouldn’t trade their lives for the safety of the surface and the underground. No, she was planning on dying together with Daiha.

“...What a foolish choice, Kurano Kiriha.”

Maguz was astonished by this unexpected development, but soon collected himself and directed a sharp glance at her. He was growing frustrated that things weren’t proceeding according to plan.

“If my choice is foolish, then what about yours? If surrender is so wise, why attack the surface? You don’t even know what you’re doing!”

Kiriha wiped away her tears and let out a dry laugh. She was a descendent of the proud People of the Earth. While they might retreat for the sake of the weak, they would never give in to a villain’s threats. She was the very definition of a dignified ruler.

“Wahahaha, well said, Kiriha! Raiga, you are indeed the fool here!”

Daiha joined Kiriha and laughed loudly. He felt the same way she did. Neither of them had any intention of bowing down before the villain in front of them. The apple never falls far from the tree, as they say.

“Curse you! Very well, I’ll grant your wish right now!”

Enraged that Maguz was being taunted yet again, Tayuma pulled out his pistol and pointed it at them. He looked more than ready to pull the trigger.

“Wait, Tayuma. You can’t kill them.”

However, Maguz stopped Tayuma yet again.

“Why, Maguz-sama?!”

But this time, Tayuma didn’t relent right away. Having gotten too worked up, he questioned Maguz for his reasons.

“We are fighting on the side of justice. Even if they are our enemies, killing them for personal emotions is absurd.”

“F-Forgive me...”

Realizing that he was personally about to tarnish Maguz’s honor, Tayuma hurriedly apologized. He went to kneel, but Maguz beckoned him closer before he could do so. As Tayuma rushed over, Maguz whispered something to him.

“I see... That is a splendid idea, Maguz-sama.”

Upon hearing Maguz’s instructions, a twisted smile crept across Tayuma’s lips.

On Maguz’s orders, Kiriha and Daiha were moved out of the command room. The duty of escorting them fell on Maya. Despite the seriousness of the situation, she seemed to be having fun. Her presence here, however, puzzled Daiha.

“Where are you taking us, girl?”

“To your execution chamber.”

“Execution chamber? Didn’t Maguz say he wouldn’t kill us?”

“Only because there were other soldiers present at the time.”

“I see.”

“You and your daughter will be executed, but the official word will be that you fled overseas. Rather than having you die at the hands of the radical faction, it would be more convenient if you just abandoned the conservative faction to save your own skins.”

“So they’ll drag our reputation through the mud as payback for before...”

“Seems so. While he’s got a sharp mind, that Maguz is quite a petty man...”

Secretly executing Daiha and Kiriha while proclaiming that they’d fled was a ploy to lower the conservative faction’s morale, but Maya believed that Maguz’s desire for revenge played a big role in his decision. He wanted to ruin their reputation as compensation for hurting his pride. While Maya didn’t object to his plan outright, she couldn’t take any pride in his way of doing things, and she didn’t feel very good about helping. Discussing the matter, her ill humor shone through for a brief moment.

Kiriha stared at Maya from the side. She looked familiar to Kiriha, but she couldn’t be sure she recognized her. It had been so long. Filled with doubt, she continued to stare at Maya. Eventually, Maya noticed and looked back at Kiriha.

“Now that I think about it... You’re Kii, aren’t you? How nostalgic. It’s been about eleven years since we last met.”

“So you really are the woman from back then...”

“You remembered! Allow me to reintroduce myself. I am Maya, Maki’s master.”

“Maki’s...?”

Upon hearing Maya’s introduction, gears began turning in Kiriha’s brain.

If the woman from eleven years ago is Maki’s master, then...

Kiriha began pondering the relationship between her, Maki, and the people around them. Dissident magic users and the underground’s radical faction had connected over a decade ago, and Sanae and Kiriha had been the ones to pay the price. Meanwhile, Maki, as Maya’s disciple, had fought against Yurika for quite some time. There was a complex web of connections between people who’d appeared to have nothing to do with each other.

Depending on the circumstances, our fighting over room 106 might also be... No, that’s overthinking it...

Kiriha felt like seemingly random pieces of a puzzle were coming together. She didn’t know what the bigger picture was, but she was certain that it was completely different from what she’d imagined when she first arrived in room 106.

“But still, to think I’d end up killing you again...”

“What?!”

Daiha, who had been quietly listening to them talk, shouted out in surprise. He had heard about what had happened eleven years ago, but he was surprised to learn that the culprit was now right in front of him.

“Heh, it’s like history’s repeating itself. Who knows... maybe that boy is on his way here too?”

“‘That boy’...? You mean Koutarou?”

When Maya mentioned Koutarou, Kiriha’s train of thought came to a dead halt. His involvement was something she couldn’t ignore.

“Koutarou won’t come. He has an important mission. Even if he does show up, it won’t be to save me.”

Kiriha adamantly shook her head. She had actually allowed herself to be captured by the radical faction for one more reason on top of seeing Daiha. And that was to find their base. She knew if she went along with the radical faction, Sanae would be able to track her with her spirit sight. Sanae could easily detect the auras of people she was familiar with, and Kiriha had left behind her most prized possession. Sanae’s abilities were far superior to what Koutarou’s had been eleven years ago, so she was certain Sanae would be able to find the place right away.

But it was still an extremely dangerous move. Kiriha didn’t see any way she’d leave with her life once she was captured by the radical faction. But that was a trade she was willing to make for leading Koutarou and the others to the base. She had come prepared for that ending. Otherwise, both the surface and the underground would end up turning into bloody battlefields. All she could do was put her hopes in her friends.

Now, all that was left was for Koutarou and the others to attack the base after making proper preparations. Though Kiriha and Daiha would be dead by then, everything else should go well. Kiriha had left her card behind in part to tell Koutarou she was prepared for that. She wanted him to forget about her and save what he was meant to. That devoted desire of hers hadn’t changed since that day eleven years ago.

“You really are a strange girl. You’re doing exactly what you did eleven years ago.”

Maya smiled at Kiriha, less like she was looking at an enemy and more like she was looking at an old friend.

“People don’t change in just ten years.”

“I think so too.”

Maya stopped their conversation there, but she pondered the logical conclusion of it in her mind.

That’s right. People don’t change just because of the passage of time. And in that case...

Maya smiled. Lately, things hadn’t been going how she would have liked... but she got the feeling that was about to change.

Despite being tied to a pillar in the execution chamber, Kiriha was calm. She had been prepared for this from the very beginning. Instead, it was her father, Daiha, who was getting upset. He had steeled himself for death the moment he was kidnapped, but with Kiriha joining him, things had changed. Not being able to do anything for his daughter whose life was in danger was painful for him as a father.

“I’m sorry, Kiriha... Please forgive your useless father.”

“There’s nothing you could do. Just know I was happy to be your daughter.”

With Daiha apologizing for the umpteenth time, Kiriha showed a gentle smile. She had no regrets about the situation. She wasn’t upset with her father, or anything else for that matter. She regretted nothing about the choices she’d made that had led her here.

I returned to the surface and reunited with Onii-chan... I no longer have any regrets. And I’m sure that Onii-chan and everyone will be able to defeat the radical faction. There’s nothing left to worry about...

Kiriha’s eyes were clear, but Daiha deeply regretted getting his daughter into this situation. He hated to see her like that. She should have been living her life as a normal girl. He felt it was far too cruel for her to die shouldering the problems of her tribe.

“Yes... I too am proud to be your father.”

However, Daiha held those feelings back and bid his daughter farewell. He didn’t want to bother her by bringing up something that neither of them could do anything about now. He at least wanted the two of them to go out smiling.

Kiriha and Daiha lovingly said their goodbyes. It was a touching scene, but Tayuma who was watching them didn’t feel even an inkling of sympathy. He had the eyes of a stray dog staring down its prey.

“Heh heh... hahahaha! Maguz-sama, at last the time has come for the accursed Kurano family to meet its end!”

Tayuma, Maguz, and Maya were looking down into the execution chamber from an observation balcony. The overly excited Tayuma was pressed up against the window as he eagerly watched Kiriha and Daiha. Because the Kurano family had humiliated him over and over again, he couldn’t be more thrilled at their demise.

“The Kurano family acts as the pillar of the conservative faction—both in politics and morale. With them gone, the conservative faction will collapse from within. Our victory is at hand.”

In contrast to Tayuma, Maguz’s eyes were chilling. But he too felt nothing of sympathy for the Kuranos. The difference between them was hot and cold, but they both loathed Kiriha and Daiha as enemies.

“Hmm... Even though you served them for so long, you sure seemed awfully quick to give the order to execute them.”

Compared to the other two present, Maya was the only one who seemed to feel anything at all for the unfortunate father and daughter. She prioritized herself, while Kiriha and Daiha prioritized the whole. Though there was a difference in what they considered important, she admired their resolve in facing their problems. In her words, both good and evil had their ways of blooming.

“Indeed, I have served the Kurano family for over twenty years. Mind you, those were days of submission. But all the while, I have been sharpening my fangs.”

Maguz—or rather, Raiga—had served the Kurano family together with his father, Kouma. Their family had done so for over four and a half centuries. But to him, it was a humiliating legacy of servitude. He felt the same way about the Kuranos that the radical faction did about the surface dwellers. For better or worse, Maguz was the true embodiment of the radical faction’s sentiments.

“...I guess you have a lot going on too.”

Maya said nothing more, and ended their conversation with that vague comment. As expected, the situation wasn’t very agreeable. That was the only way Maya could interpret it.

She had saved Maki from that slave merchant because she needed her talent, but looking back at their relationship now, she felt like that hadn’t been all there was to it. That was why Maya was willing to give it her all and crush Maki if she stood in her way as an enemy. That was simply how she lived.

And it was why Maya didn’t like that Maguz felt nothing whatsoever for the underground and its people. Maguz was already on the cusp of entering his midlife, but based on the way he spoke, he’d grown up without ever taking a real look at his surroundings. There was a big difference between acting with full knowledge and acting in ignorance. To Maya, Maguz was like a child.

Elexis would never behave like this... I guess it’s because he’s been shut in this small underground world...

While she didn’t like it, pointing that out wouldn’t do her any favors. So instead of continuing the conversation, she chose the change the topic. There was something else she wanted to know.

“By the way, may I ask you something, Maguz?”

“I don’t mind.”

“That codename of yours, Maguz... Does it have some kind of origin?”

“It does. I took it from the name of our ancient leader. It was forbidden amongst the People of the Earth to speak his name, as he was a leader who strove to use military force to obtain supremacy. Because of that, there are now very few that know his true name.”

The People of the Earth’s ancestors were chased from their homeland as criminals. The reason for that was their leader, who went by the name of Maguz. He’d tried to rule the world with force, and was thusly stripped of his position and exiled. That was why the People of the Earth now always sought to avoid conflict. Because they were aware of their people’s sins in the past.

“That is why I chose it. Using force, I will reclaim our home. He was a true ruler, a legend who bravely chose to fight. His name was—”

“Maxfern?”

Maya spoke the name before Maguz could. Hearing it come from her lips, Maguz was quite taken aback.

“...I am amazed you know of that name.”

In the legends of the People of the Earth, said leader’s name was Maguz Fern. Though the pronunciation was somewhat different, such distortion was only natural after being passed down orally for so long. In fact, that lent credence to the tale.

“We have a similar legend too, though speaking of it is also forbidden.”

Maya gave the surprised Maguz a cheerful smile.

So that really was it...

That was what Maya had wanted to know. She wanted to confirm the legend shared between her people and the People of the Earth.

“Now that I think about, you were from the lost seventh tribe. It’s not all that strange for you to know it.”

Maguz soon remembered Maya’s origin and nodded. Considering they shared the same roots, it was perfectly believable that she had such knowledge.

“We both have a hard time with worthless ancestors, it seems.”

“I just have to not worry about it.”

“...I expect great things from you.”

As they reached a pause in their conversation, the soldiers in the execution chamber signaled that their work was done. Seeing that, Tayuma turned from the window to look at Maguz and Maya.

“Maguz-sama, it seems the preparations for the execution are complete.”

“Then let’s begin right away.”

“Yes, sir... Begin the execution!”

Receiving orders from Maguz, Tayuma gave the soldiers the signal through the window.

Execution methods underground didn’t differ much from those on the surface. Since they were at a military base, the radical faction chose the simplest method available—death by firing squad. There were four men assigned for each person to be executed. Three would be given guns with blanks, and only one would have live ammunition. It was a precaution taken to safeguard the soldiers’ mental health by making it uncertain who’d fired the kill shot.

“Finally, huh...?” Daiha mumbled while looking at the four shooters lining up in front of him.

Death was near, but he was unafraid. The only irritation he felt was over not being able to protect his daughter.

“Father, keep your head held high until the end. You can’t show weakness to these people.”

Kiriha kept her firm attitude. Despite staring down her mortality, she felt neither fear nor regret. She simply stood there in a dignified fashion.

“...You’ve grown strong, Kiriha.”

His daughter’s composure was a saving grace for Daiha. If she had been screaming and crying, he too would have surely lost his calm. It was redeeming, but also a little sad. He was happy that his daughter had matured, but he still wanted his little girl to be a little girl.

“No, I was just thinking that we’ll get to see mother soon.”

“You’re right. I’ll think about the same, then.”

Kiriha and Daiha smiled at each other one last time.

Eleven years ago, Kiriha had lost her mother, and Daiha his wife. That’s why, though they were sad that they would die, those feelings were softened by the thought that they would soon be reunited with a lost loved one. Their fate was sealed, but they weren’t wrong for accepting it this way.

Onii-chan, I’ll leave the rest to you... I’m sure you can protect the People of the Earth and the people on the surface... and all the girls of room 106...

Kiriha only wished that she’d been able to do more. She hadn’t been able to find the radical faction’s base on her own in time, and so ended up having to rely on Sanae’s abilities. She was also leaving the fighting to Koutarou. But while she was disappointed that giving it her all hadn’t been enough, she didn’t regret anything. She was leaving things in the hands of the people she trusted most. She had no worries about the future. That’s why she was able to choose such a reckless strategy in the first place.

“Take aim!”

Following the captain’s orders, the eight shooters leveled their guns. Four muzzles were pointed at Kiriha, and four at Daiha. While staring into those black holes, Kiriha thought back on everything that had happened until today.

Their meeting in room 106. The days they’d fought over the small apartment. Their beach vacation where Sanae had been kidnapped, which forced the girls to work together for the first time. There was also the school play where they all began to learn more about each other. Then Christmas, the second play, the ski trip... At first they had only fought with each other, but as time passed, Kiriha could only remember pleasant memories. That’s why she thought she’d lived a happy life.

I was able to find Onii-chan and confirm that he’s safe and happy. And though it was only for a short time, we were able to live supporting each other. That’s enough for me. Onii-chan, please protect everyone...

Her bonds with her friends had grown deep. She had spent every day happy and experienced a love unlike anything else. Indeed, Kiriha had been happy. That was how she truly felt. That’s why she had to stop the fighting as quickly as possible. Kiriha wasn’t the only who’d spent the last year being happy. There was happiness both above and below ground that shouldn’t be sacrificed.

“...I love you, Onii-chan...”

Kiriha smiled as she whispered those words and closed her eyes. The muzzles were already trained on her. Once the captain gave the order, it would all be over.

“Fire!”

And just as the captain called out to the firing squad, there was a loud sound from above and the ground shook a little. The shooters fired at the same time, but for some reason, their bullets didn’t harm Kiriha or Daiha.

“J-Just what...?”

Confused, Kiriha opened her eyes. In front of her was a familiar, manly figure clad in blue armor. She would never mistake it. It was her beloved, Koutarou.

What had protected Kiriha and Daiha from the bullets was the barrier created by his armor, after he had destroyed the ceiling and entered the chamber, as well as Harumi and Yurika’s defensive spells. They had made it in the nick of time.

“Sorry I’m late. Are you okay, Kiriha-san?”

Koutarou turned his head a little to look over his shoulder at Kiriha. But the moment their gazes met, large tears fell from Kiriha’s eyes as she cried out to him.

“Onii-chan?! Why did you come to save me?!”

“It’s been a while since I heard you say something like that...”

That was what she’d said to him eleven years ago. It was the same question she’d hurled at him when he prioritized saving her over his mother.

“The people close to you will be in danger! Everyone on the surface and underground will be! I’m not worth it! Don’t you understand?!”

Kiriha feared that many would be sacrificed for her sake. That’s why she wanted Koutarou and the others to sacrifice her instead. She wanted them to take their time in preparing and challenge the radical faction only once they were good and prepared. A certain victory would be the only way to make sure everyone was safe.

“No, not at all.”

Despite Kiriha’s desperation, Koutarou disappointedly shook his head.

“I... We’re stupid, so there’s only one thing that we understand”

“And what is that?!”

“That Kiriha-san and Kii are important to us.”

When they learned that Kiriha had left them to face her death alone, Koutarou and the others all felt the same way. They had to save Kiriha as quickly as possible. They knew that Kiriha wanted them to go on without her, but they still couldn’t stand to leave her behind.

“Besides, I could never accept that. I don’t believe you should have to sacrifice your happiness for everyone else’s!”

Ever since leaving past Forthorthe, Koutarou had wondered whether sacrificing one to save the many was really the right choice. It was what Alaia had done for the sake of her people. However, no matter how hard he thought about it, Koutarou just couldn’t accept it. That’s why he wasn’t about to let someone close to him make that same mistake again.

“So I’ll beat down these guys and bring you back safe and sound! And protect the surface and underground on top of that! That’s the right path!”

In order to obtain the right end, he couldn’t use the wrong means. That would make him just as bad as the radical faction. He wanted to stand for something, and he knew he had to walk down the right path to get there.

If he didn’t, he would surely falter somewhere along the way. Even if he managed to reach the right destination, if he got there by walking the wrong path, it would all be meaningless. In order to make sure everyone was happy, he needed to take the high road, no matter how difficult that may be. That was the future Koutarou wanted.

“Onii-chan... Okay, I understand...”

Thanks to Koutarou’s decisive words, strength returned to Kiriha’s eyes. She too knew she had to walk the right path. She’d felt so rushed earlier that she’d chosen poorly, but now she could see things clearly.

“Lend me your strength, Koutarou!”

“That’s more like it, Kiriha-san! Everyone, you hear that?!”

“Leave it to yours truly, Sanae-chan!”

“The time has come for me to fulfill my duty as a magical girl!”

“Let’s do our best, Kurano-san!”

The new path Kiriha was about to choose was an extremely difficult one, but she wouldn’t be walking it alone. Koutarou, Sanae, Yurika, and Harumi, as well as Theia and the others on the surface would be with her. And she knew she could reach her ultimate goal with their help.

Maya’s eyes gleamed when she spotted Koutarou standing magnificently behind his brightly shining barrier.

You did well to come, my boy!

Maya didn’t like Maguz’s way of doing things, so while she didn’t say it out loud, she welcomed Koutarou’s arrival. She was so overjoyed, in fact, she’d have done a little dance if she could.

The radical faction soldiers, however, weren’t smiling like Maya was. The moment Koutarou and the three girls had jumped down into the execution chamber, the firing squad fell into complete disarray.

The majority of the soldiers present were a disorderly mob with no actual combat experience. Only a handful of them had fought against an anti-invader squad like the Sun Rangers, and even those who had didn’t have much experience. The radical faction always far outnumbered the Sun Rangers, so while the Sun Rangers managed to grow and learn from their encounters, the same wasn’t true for the radical faction. They were far from battle-hardened, and as such, it would take some time for them to regain their cool amidst the chaos.

“What are you doing?! Get it together!”

“E-Everyone, reload! Switch over to real bullets!”

Upon hearing Tayuma’s irritated shouting, the captain of the firing squad hurriedly gave orders to his men. Their weapons were loaded with a mix of blanks and live rounds. They wouldn’t be able to put up a proper fight like that, so they all switched over to what they knew were real bullets.

While the shooters were confused and reloading, the haniwas cut the ropes binding Kiriha.

“Thank you, Karama, Korama.”

“Ho! We’re glad you’re alright, Nee-san, ho!”

“Take us with you the next time you are kidnapped, ho! Don’t be so reserved, ho!”

“Yes, I will do just that. I’m sorry.”

“We and Nee-san are one, ho!”

“When we die, we die together, ho!”

Meanwhile, Sanae, Yurika, and Harumi set Daiha free. He’d never met them before, but under the circumstances, he greeted them all warmly.

“I’m sorry about this, girls. Are you Kiriha’s friends?”

“Yeah. We didn’t get along at first, but now we’re real close.”

“Kiriha-san was always kind.”

“I was surprised to learn she was from the underground, though.”

“Thank you, it seems my daughter is blessed with good friends.”

Next, Daiha looked over at Koutarou.

“...And that must be Koutarou, huh?”

Koutarou stood between his allies and their enemies, protecting them with the barrier generated by his armor. While the soldiers were disoriented, the party had only been able to rescue Kiriha and Daiha because Koutarou was defending them all.

“You know him?”

“I’ve heard about him from Kiriha. A weak yet strong man, unable to live his life the way he wants. From the look of it, he’s exactly as she described him.”

Based on his conversations with Kiriha—and now seeing how he was carefully guarding his friends—Daiha sensed Koutarou was the kind of man who only knew how to walk straight forward in a twisted world. He might repeatedly crash into walls and hurt himself, but he would only ever walk straight ahead. And as Daiha watched him now, Kiriha took her place next to him.

“Koutarou.”

“I’m really glad you’re okay... Don’t go too far, okay? You’ll step outside of the barrier.”

“I know. But I will always walk by your side.”

“I don’t want any more repeats of today, okay?”

“Yes. I’m sorry.”

Kiriha looked up at Koutarou with eyes filled with trust and affection. That much was obvious even to Daiha.

Of course Kiriha would fall for him. For all her cleverness, she too will only walk straight forward...

Daiha had complex feelings about his daughter’s beloved. However, Koutarou had saved Kiriha several times now, and this time, he’d even saved Daiha too. As such, he felt like he had no room to oppose her wishes. He was just thankful that Koutarou seemed to be a nice boy. He was a doting parent, certainly, but he was truly relieved from the bottom of his heart. There were more serious matters at hand now, however.

“Fire! Fire! Don’t leave any of them alive!”

Tayuma flew into a rage from the observation balcony and continued to shout orders to attack. In response, the soldiers in the execution chamber—the eight shooters and their captain, plus an additional four guards—pulled the triggers on their guns at once.

Thirteen bullets rained down on Koutarou and the others, but each and every one was repelled. Simple firearms didn’t have the power to pierce through a complex barrier made of the distortion field from Koutarou’s armor, the spiritual energy field from the haniwas, and Harumi and Yurika’s magic—all of which had different characteristics.

“Damn it, again! Curse you, you little brat!”

Seeing the bullets so easily deflected, Tayuma ground his teeth like he’d been personally insulted. His irritation was specifically directed at Koutarou, who had turned the tables when they should have had this in the bag. It was the same as what had happened several months ago when he attacked the surface. Prideful Tayuma glared at Koutarou with a vengeful, burning rage.

“Calm down, Tayuma. Did you forget why we gathered that data at the factory?”

In contrast to Tayuma, Maguz remained calm. In a nonchalant gesture, he waved his right hand at a subordinate standing by in a corner. The subordinate then quickly began operating a nearby panel.

“R-Right!”

Realizing Maguz’s intentions, Tayuma just barely managed to get a hold of himself. As he did, the large door leading to the execution chamber opened and a radical faction combat squad entered.

The squad consisted of twenty-four mechanical soldiers created with spiritual energy technology, behind which were twenty-four heavily armed infantryman, and eight large automated machine guns. From the combat data collected at the factory, the radical faction had surmised this would be enough firepower to defeat Koutarou and the girls.

“Maguz-sama, please retreat.”

“And where do you suggest that I retreat after I abandon our stronghold?”

“Th-That’s... I understand, Maguz-sama...”

“We’ll finish this here! We’re joining too, Tayuma!”

“Yes, sir!”

On top of the original thirteen soldiers and the additional fifty-six units that had just entered, Maguz and Tayuma descended to the execution chamber. The two of them were armed with spiritual energy weapons and magic. They also wore armor made using spiritual energy technology that had been decorated in traditional People of the Earth fashion, based on old documents they had regarding warfare.

Their armor included large helmets and strong plating that covered their entire bodies. Maguz was wielding a longbow, and Tayuma a longsword—both of which had been custom-made for them with magic. They held power that easily surpassed modern weaponry. Since Maguz and Tayuma both came from families known for their bravery, they were quite skilled at handling traditional weapons. Thanks to that, they were far more dangerous than the soldiers armed with firearms.

With Maguz and Tayuma entering the fray, the radical faction’s forces numbered seventy-one in all. Each unit of their large force had a weapon leveled at Koutarou and his team—a meager six in comparison. Even with how the battle at the factory had gone, Koutarou and the others seemed to have no chance of winning now.

“Don’t think you’ll be getting out of here alive, brat!”

With such an overwhelming difference in forces, Tayuma didn’t hesitate to threaten Koutarou. But even against such odds, Koutarou remained confident.

“It won’t be that hard, Tayuma.”

“What?! You sore loser!”

“I’m not a sore loser. Well, you’ll find out soon enough.”

“You wish! I’ll crush you before you can try anything!”

“The fact that it won’t be difficult is the difference between Kiriha-san and you guys... Not that you’d understand.”

“Then I’ll start by killing that girl!”

Tayuma roared as he pointed at Kiriha. However, Kiriha didn’t even flinch. In fact, she was pretty much ignoring him as she addressed Maguz.

“Raiga... Is there no way to convince you to stop this battle?”

“You might think it wrong, but having abandoned battle for several thousand years is what’s truly wrong. It’s not like I wish for the battle to continue on forever, but we must stand up for ourselves.”

The People of the Earth had avoided fighting throughout their long history underground. Maguz took issue with that. It was only natural for friction and conflict to occur between living beings. Running away from it every time would eventually leave you nowhere to run, and being backed into a corner would spell ruin. That was how he felt about the People of the Earth being driven underground. There were times it was necessary to take up arms to defend oneself or do what was right. That was what he wanted the People of the Earth to do, though his idea of what was right wasn’t necessarily shared by everyone. But that didn’t matter to him.

“If we don’t stand up for ourselves, we will be ruined! That much is obvious if you observe the history of the surface!”

Kiriha also knew that there were times when there was no other choice but to fight. That’s why she had taken up arms to stand against the radical faction. But what the history of the surface had taught her was every single nation that had turned weapons on its own people had, without exception, been ruined. That was why Kiriha and the conservative faction had tried to avoid conflict with the radical faction all this time. It was also the same reason why the People of the Earth had avoided battle for so long.

“We are different from the surface dwellers. We are superior to them.”

The superior should dominate. The inferior should obey. It was that simple to Maguz. He believed it was the destiny of the People of the Earth to rule. However, their ancestors had chosen not to do so and instead headed underground to avoid battle. Those who remained on the surface threw away their culture and assimilated with the surface dwellers. They feared taking responsibility and delayed mankind’s advancement at the hands of the People of the Earth by some several hundred years. But if the People of the Earth took over now, they could make up for that lost time. It would open up a bright future for everyone.

“You don’t decide who is superior and who is inferior! Are you going to choose the path to ruin because of your elitism, Raiga?!”

All throughout history, there had been plenty of megalomaniacs who believed they were superior enough to rule the world. But there were too many pitfalls when it came to putting that into practice. They had to prove their superiority by maintaining it at all times. And even if they could actually do that, they would still eventually age and die. What happened then? Was there an heir just as superior? And what happened if someone even more superior appeared?

“I don’t need to decide—it has already been decided! I will forever rule under the name of Maguz! Combining our spiritual energy technology with magic, it’s within reach!”

All the problems that arose from rule by the superior caused such rulers to seek foolish things, including eternal life and omnipotence. History was riddled with rulers that had been deluded by such vain quests which were ultimately a waste of time. Ironically, it was their attempts to remain superior that got in the way of doing just that. That held true even in the twenty-first century.

In short, rule by the superior was inherently flawed and self-defeating. That’s why, even if there was short-term success, it would never last. That’s why Kiriha would never fall for it.

That same had been true for Maguz once upon a time, but after he discovered magic, his pride and ambitions flared up. Immortality and omnipotence seemed like very real possibilities with magic and spiritual energy technology working together. The development of the Earth Dragon was just a testament to what they could achieve. Maguz’s ultimate goal was to elevate himself to a higher level of existence and rule the world for all eternity.

“That would only lead to battle between immortal monsters! Why don’t you use your superior intellect to think before you act, Raiga?!”

If there truly was a way to obtain immortality and omnipotence, then others would eventually find it out. It would be impossible to protect a secret for all eternity. The secret might be stolen, or perhaps others might come across it on their own. But one way or another, it would spread. And eventually, a battle would break out between immortal and omnipotent monsters. In the end, there would still be misery.

“Oh, I have! And this was the superior choice!”

Maguz believed that absolute justice was on his side, and he would do anything for that sake. Surprisingly enough, past the calm in his eyes burned with an insanity that made even Tayuma’s pale in comparison.

“If it’s possible, then someone, even if it’s not us, will eventually reach it! That’s why we must get there before anyone else, or we will be the ones who are ruled! We need the power to protect ourselves!”

“So you would rather open the gates of hell yourself so no one else can...? How foolish.”

Even with things at this stage, Kiriha still wanted to reach a peaceful resolution through negotiation. But there was no way she could talk Maguz down in such a short time, not when he was so self-assured of what he called justice. The conservative faction would be defeated before she did.

It was just as Theia-dono said... There isn’t enough time to reach my ideal... We are fools who can do nothing but push forward...

Thus, Kiriha finally made up her mind. She would defeat Maguz and put an end to his ambitions. She had to keep him from opening the gates of hell. Even if she stopped him here, they might face the same problem somewhere else someday. But if she didn’t, this could mean the end of happy days for both the surface and the underground.

“Maguz, I understand your goals, but I absolutely cannot allow you to proceed.”

Kiriha readied her weapon. It was a long naginata capable of manipulating fire and electricity that Clan had sent over for her.

“You would do well to remember this: we are proud People of the Earth! Maguz, we won’t let you rule over anything!”

Kiriha looked magnificent and beautiful with her naginata in hand. The radical faction soldiers that stood against her instinctively held their breath. Ironically enough, it was Kiriha who had rejected the idea of forced rule that truly had the qualities of a supreme leader.

Hearing Kiriha’s declaration, Maguz lost his temper and grew ever more enraged.

“Then I will begin my reign right here and now by destroying you! My soldiers, kill them!”

He no longer had the expression of a calm leader. It had been replaced with the expression of a cruel, cold-blooded beast baring its fangs. His heart was just as twisted as Tayuma’s.

“I’m sorry, Uncle Kouma. Your son has gone to a place from which he can no longer return...”

Koutarou mumbled sadly to himself as he looked at the attacking crowd of enemies. He had no sympathy for Raiga, but he was heartbroken to think of his father. Koutarou, like Kiriha, strongly valued family.

“What are you mumbling about, brat?!”

However, Tayuma brought him to his senses. Seeing Tayuma stand in front of the soldiers prepared to shed blood for his self-righteous, egotistical, diluted sense of justice filled Koutarou’s heart with anger. An anger that grew even greater fueled by the sadness he felt.

“Did you go mad seeing the superior power of your superior opponents?!”

“I’m glad you’re here, Tayuma! You really put things into perspective for me!”

Thoroughly angered, Koutarou extended his right hand forward as if he meant to strike Tayuma. But what came next wasn’t an attack.

“Cradle, give me my sword!”

Koutarou issued an order to Clan’s spaceship above the surface via his bracelet.

“As you wish, my lord.”

Clan’s spaceship, the Cradle, obeyed his order without delay.

“Come, Signaltiiin!”

“Call sign confirmed. Coordinate axis fixed. Commencing transfer of Signaltin.”

A black hole appeared in front of Koutarou’s extended right hand. It was a hole in space-time created so that the Cradle could deliver the sword to Koutarou.

“Hmm...?”

When Koutarou grabbed hold of Signaltin’s handle from the hole, he noticed something strange. In addition to the first space-time hole, another six had surrounded him. Inside them were devices each a little larger than soccer balls. They emerged from the holes and floated towards him without command.

“Clan, what is this?”

“It’s additional equipment that Theiamillis-san and Pardomshiha prepared for you. It’s called the Garb of the Lord.”

“Theia and Ruth-san did this?”

While he understood the situation, Koutarou was still puzzled. It was then that a hologram with two choices appeared in front of him. One read: “Become the emperor.” And the other: “Do not become the emperor.”

“It seems like Elfaria-san was also part of its development.”

“It sure looks like it...”

Koutarou touched the “become the emperor” choice while wryly smiling. It was the startup order for the additional equipment, but Elfaria had put her own twist on it. It was almost certainly some kind of joke or prank.

“Engaging legendary weapon system series 01-A: Garb of the Lord. Garb of the Lord has been put under control of the maneuver suit.”

The Garb of the Lord linked to Koutarou’s armor via gravitational waves, and was put under control of the armor’s AI. After that, its various parts began flying around and automatically connecting to the armor itself.

“I see, so this is what it is...”

The additional equipment referred to as the Garb of the Lord was a supplement to Koutarou’s armor. It came in six main pieces: a pauldron for both the left and right shoulders, a breastplate that covered his chest, a matching plate that covered his back, and guards for each leg. To top it all off, a decorative mantle hung down behind him. Its overall design was in the standard smoothly-curved Forthorthian style, and it was colored blue and white just like the uniforms of the Satomi band of knights. With it all, Koutarou’s armor became more extravagant, to the point of looking regal.

“Your Excellency, Lord Blue Knight, this ship, the Cradle, will pray for your fortune and glory in place of the nation of Forthorthe.”

“Hahaha, you’re leaving yourself wide open, brat! Did you give up already?!”

The ten or so men around Tayuma all trained their guns on Koutarou. The guns they were using were different from the ones the firing squad had. These were all larger caliber firearms intended to be used against vehicles. No matter how strong his barrier was, it wouldn’t stand up to that many powerful shots at this range.

“Nah, I’m simply dumbfounded by my friends’ mischievous trick.”

Koutarou readied Signaltin and tried to close in on the soldiers before they could attack.

“Detecting use of force against enemy troops. GoL will begin its attack.”

“H-Hey?!”

However, the first to attack was neither Koutarou nor the enemy. It was the additional equipment now on Koutarou’s armor—GoL, or the Garb of the Lord.

“Activating right shoulder laser cannon. Neutralizing enemy forces.”

The combat algorithm that Ruth had created for GoL was based on Theia’s attack patterns. As a result, it was quick to take action and didn’t hesitate to use force.

“Wai—”

Before Koutarou could even object, GoL opened the right pauldron and began its attack using the built-in laser cannon. The laser cannon swiftly altered its aim and intermittently fired off beams. At first glance, it looked it was firing wildly and at random, but it was actually focusing on the enemy’s weapons to rob them of their ability to attack. It had also inherited its accuracy from Theia.

“Could this be from back then...?”

Before Koutarou could do anything himself, the additional equipment had defeated the enemy on its own. It reminded Koutarou of something—the “Theia’s New Super Koutarou” plans she’d drawn up once. Of course, like Kiriha had predicted, its scale had been dialed back to make it more realistic and practical. But it was still unmistakably Theia’s crazy idea brought to life.

“Curse you, brat! Mechanical soldiers, move up front!”

With GoL blasting their weapons right out of the hands of the infantrymen, the mechanical soldiers created with spiritual energy technology took the front line. These mechanical soldiers were equipped with the same kind of spiritual energy field that Karama and Korama used. And since GoL had restricted its firepower to only blast away weapons, its lasers were easily blocked by the mechanical soldiers’ fields.

“Exchanging right shoulder weaponry. Activating high-convergence beam cannon. Beginning bombardment.”

“I told you you’re too fast! Clan, what’s going on?!”

“GoL is a completely automated system! You just fight against the enemies you want to fight against! GoL will carve open a path for you!”

“So that’s what it’s doing! I’m not sure if I like it or not!”

GoL would make way for the emperor. And just as Koutarou got his head around its purpose, the new weapon on his right shoulder began its attack. This time, it was a highly powerful beam cannon. It wasn’t as accurate as the laser version, but it had a lot more oomph. While it wasn’t powerful enough to outright destroy the mechanical soldiers, it had no trouble overloading their barriers.

“Sanae-chan God Arrow!”

“Thunder Lance! Modifier: Change Element, Mana Energy!”

“Gather, spirits of the wind! Become an arm to strike down my enemy! Fly, Air Sledgehammer!”

And as long as their barriers were down, the girls could attack. They unleashed their attacks on the mechanical soldiers whose barriers had been compromised by GoL’s beam. The mechanical soldiers excelled at both offense and defense, but they hardly stood a chance here. In no time at all, three soldiers had been reduced to scrap.

“Impossible! That easily?!”

Seeing this result left Tayuma wide-eyed. According to their calculations, they should have been able to win with ease with the forces they had. Yet five heavy infantrymen had been disarmed and three mechanical soldiers had been destroyed in the blink of an eye. No one had expected it, and the soldiers were just as shaken as Tayuma.

“Let’s go, Koutarou!”

“Yeah!”

“It’s our turn, ho!”

“It’s finally our time to shine again, ho!”

Not missing their chance, Kiriha and Koutarou stepped forward. Since both of them were protected by strong barriers, they were well prepared for cutting into the enemy line. Their targets were Tayuma who was leading the soldiers in the front, and Maguz commanding them from the rear. They were planning on ending this battle by defeating the two lynchpins.

“Fire! Fire! Don’t let them get close!”

But by the time they’d closed half the distance between them, Tayuma and his men had recovered. Nineteen infantrymen with heavy artillery and the eight large machine guns opened fire at Koutarou and Kiriha at once.

With twenty-seven weapons going off together, it sounded like the air itself was roaring. These were all heavy-duty firearms meant for serious warfare. Koutarou’s and the haniwas’ barriers wouldn’t be able to stand up against them for long.

“Protection From—”

Yurika tried casting a spell on Koutarou and Kiriha that would help protect them from the bullets.

“Look out, Yurika!”

However, right before she could finish, Sanae pushed her to the side. Not a moment later, a hail of bullets showered down just where she had been standing. It was an attack from the original thirteen soldiers in the execution chamber.

“Owowow...”

“Get up, Yurika! I won’t last for long!”

“Sanae-chan, thank you!”

Sanae jumped over and lent Yurika a hand. Meanwhile, the shooters continued firing. Sanae was repelling their attacks with her psychic powers, but since she lacked fine control over them, it was quickly draining her energy. Standing still for too long was dangerous.

“Sakuraba-senpai, protect Satomi-san and Kiriha-san!”

As she got up, Yurika called out for their other ally, Harumi, to support Koutarou. However, Harumi simply shook her head with a confident smile.

“They’ll be okay. Let’s calm down and deal with our own opponents... Come, spirits of earth! Meld into rock and become a shield to protect us! Defend, Armor of the Earth!”

With Harumi’s hair glowing silver, she cast a defensive spell on herself and the others instead of Koutarou and Kiriha. It was powerful and easily repelled the firing squad’s bullets.

“Sakuraba-senpai! Satomi-san and Kiriha-san are in dang— Huh?”

Yurika was surprised by Harumi’s actions, but when she looked back at Koutarou and Kiriha, she saw that they were advancing without even a care for the bullets flying at them.

“H-How?”

“Hmm, simply put, we have that maniac to thank,” Sanae said with a smile at the confused Yurika.

The GoL that Theia and the others had built didn’t just have weapons built into it. It also came with several other special abilities, one of which was a large barrier generation device in the left shoulder.

Koutarou’s armor had always had a barrier generation device built into it, but since the armor itself was based on an ancient design, it couldn’t practically carry a very large one. It took form over function in that sense.

However, that wasn’t the case with GoL. It had been designed explicitly to fit large weapons in the right shoulder and a large barrier generation device in the left. The pauldrons weren’t big just because they looked cool, but to draw out the armor’s maximum possible performance.

The barrier generation device got its energy supply from the battery built into the back plate of the armor. As a result, it was far more powerful than before. Normal firearms had no effect on it whatsoever.

“Karama, Korama, limit the spiritual energy field to only defend against spiritual energy! Leave the rest to Koutarou!”

“Roger! Changing attribute to prioritize spiritual energy defense!”

“We’ll show you what we can do when we get serious, ho!”

Forthorthian barriers, distortion fields, were ineffective against spiritual energy. But the haniwas had no problem handling it. And since their spiritual energy field normally worked against all kinds of attacks, limiting it to just blocking spiritual energy raised its potency considerably. As a result, they could now easily handle the volley of spiritual energy attacks.

“I’m counting on you, Signaltin!”

And when it came to magic, they would be protected by Signaltin’s ability to dispel mana. The magic the heavy infantryman were using was limited to spells cast on the bullets they fired. And all they did was increase the bullets’ firepower and accuracy, so there wasn’t all that much mana in them. So the moment they entered Signaltin’s range, they were reduced to normal, mundane bullets, which were no match for the distortion field.

“That’s how it is. So we’ll defend Kiripapa and defeat the ones over here for now. Once we’re done, we’ll go join Koutarou and Kiriha,” said Sanae.

With that, spiritual energy began flooding out of her. She was mimicking Harumi’s PAF, strengthening her body, but her spiritual energy was so concentrated that she was literally glowing. When it came to inner power, Sanae was second only to Shizuka.

“O-Okay.”

Realizing that Koutarou and Kiriha really didn’t need any help, Yurika redirected her staff at the nearby soldiers. The thirteen of them were their first priority.

“So I’m ‘Kiripapa,’ huh? Hahaha.”

Daiha smiled happily as he readied his own weapon. It was a Kurano family treasure, a katana that Kouma had left with Koutarou and the others. When Daiha took it in his hands, it started to faintly glow. The blade was covered in spiritual energy.

“Let’s go, everyone. Don’t push yourselves too hard. Let’s just start with what we know we can handle.”

Last to ready herself was Harumi. Her hair shined silver as she stared at the thirteen soldiers without fear or hate. To her, the radical soldiers were still Kiriha’s kinsmen, so she felt no hostility towards them. She simply recognized that she had to stop them. She held her hands in front of her chest and focused mana into them.

No wonder Kiriha always looks like she’s having so much fun. With this group, being from the underground is hardly anything. But perhaps it’s because they’re all special that they can truly understand each other...

Watching the three girls, Daiha felt that Kiriha truly was lucky. She’d made some wonderful friends.

“I’m sure I’ll get laughed at for being a doting father...”

That’s why he was determined to protect them all. He wouldn’t let the radical faction lay one finger on his daughter or her friends. Resolute, he gripped his katana firmly.

Realizing that normal shooting wouldn’t be effective, Tayuma had his subordinates reorganize their formation. The remaining twenty-one mechanical soldiers would take the front while the accurate but slow-moving automatic machine guns stayed behind. The remaining nineteen heavy infantrymen split into two groups and spread out to the flanks. They would put as much stress on Koutarou’s barrier as possible, and then finish him off at close range with the mechanical soldiers.

“At least you’re as cunning as always, Tayuma!”

Koutarou readied Signaltin and squared off against the incoming mechanical soldiers. In total there were ten of them closing in, five for Koutarou and five for Kiriha. Attacking with any more than that in close quarters would only work against them, so the remaining eleven hung back to provide supporting fire.

“Enough of your dribble! Is that something you should really be saying when you’re relying on great powers?!”

“And is that something you should really be saying when you’re relying on an earthquake weapon?!”

“Justice is on our side! For the sake of justice, any and all means are forgiven!”

Falling for Koutarou’s provocation, Tayuma stepped forward with his longsword in hand. With him entering the melee, the mechanical soldiers’ formation became slightly disordered.

That makes it a little bit easier to fight...

The mechanical soldiers’ weapons were magically enchanted blades. If they touched Signaltin, he could negate the magic until it regenerated, but they still functioned as normal blades. And if the magical part broke through their physical and spiritual energy barriers before being dispelled, it could still harm Koutarou or Kiriha.

On top of that, the mechanical soldiers further away had hand cannons that Koutarou could sense mana from. Since he couldn’t tell what they’d been enchanted with, it would be troublesome if they opened fire in the middle of the melee. Fortunately, considering that they hadn’t fired yet, that likely meant they had limited ammunition.

But that was partly why he’d taunted Tayuma into joining the fight. With him in the middle of things, it would be harder for the mechanical soldiers to use ranged weapons.

“Koutarou, we can’t split up and do this on our own!”

“Koutarou, we have decided to synchronize and move together with your armor, ho!”

“Take care of Ane-san, ho! Show them how well you get along, ho!”

“All right! Let’s go together!”

Koutarou and Kiriha advanced while repelling the enemy fire. The mechanical soldiers met them halfway, with the four out in front entering their range first.

“Out of the waaay!”

With her naginata, Kiriha had the longest reach, which allowed her to make the first attack. She swung her naginata as she gave a loud cry. Since she was going up against mechanical soldiers, there was no hesitation in her attack. Reacting to Kiriha’s unbridled fighting spirit, electricity gathered in the blade as she struck the approaching mechanical soldiers.

Of the two in front of her, the first was cut in half. Since her naginata was covered in spiritual energy and electricity, it had exceptionally high attack power. But after cutting through the first soldier, it lost too much power, allowing the second soldier to block it.

“I guess it won’t be that easy!”

Koutarou clicked with his tongue as he crossed swords with the two that had approached him. They weren’t all that impressive on their own, but they had the advantage in numbers. Staying guarded against multiple enemies was always more difficult.

“Maybe it will be!”

However, Kiriha still seemed confident. And her reason soon revealed itself.

Koutarou’s right shoulder began shining, and the three mechanical soldiers in front of Koutarou and Kiriha were smashed into pieces. It was a bombardment from the beam cannon built into Koutarou’s right pauldron. But having the opponents he was just about to defeat obliterated right in front of him, Koutarou was a little disappointed.

“Looks like the armor will win this on its own...”

If the radical troops showed any openings whatsoever, GoL would finish them off. Its attacks were so swift, powerful, and accurate that it made Koutarou wonder if he could actually win just by standing still.

“GoL will cover for us! Let’s push through, Koutarou!”

“Yeah!”

Koutarou and Kiriha wiped out the other incoming mechanical soldiers as they continued their advance.

“Not good, ho! We’re losing to the armor’s decorations, ho!”

“Let’s show some guts, ho! We can’t lose to some soulless machine, ho!”

Thanks to GoL, the haniwas following after Koutarou and Kiriha had some breathing room and could focus on more than just defending. They fired beams from their mouths to knock out the human soldiers, and they attacked the mechanical soldiers with fire and lightning. Thanks to GoL’s defending and counterattacking, Koutarou and the others became more aggressive overall. Their attacks increased in frequency and speed, and they took down enemy after enemy.

“C-Curse you, you damn brats! Don’t get full of yourselves!”

Tayuma excitedly stepped forward and swung at Koutarou with his longsword infused with spiritual energy and mana. He had a good reason for being so worked up—he’d already lost over 30 percent of his troops. Despite having an overwhelming advantage in numbers, seventy-one against six, the radical faction hadn’t been able to wound Koutarou or any of his allies yet. On top of that, they were now twenty units down. This was turning into a disastrous defeat, but Tayuma was frantic not to let it end like that.

“Koutarou, leave the small fries to me!”

“You got it!”

Up until now, Koutarou and Kiriha had been working together, but they would need to split up to deal with Tayuma. Koutarou would handle him while Kiriha held back the surrounding troops.

“Dieeeee!”

Tayuma’s spiritual energy and mana laden blade broke through the armor’s barrier and the haniwas’ spiritual energy field. Koutarou and Tayuma’s swords clashed with a loud clang. While Signaltin temporarily erased the magic on Tayuma’s sword when they collided, Tayuma was wearing powered armor, so the blow itself was still incredibly impactful. Koutarou’s armor had to use its maximum output to block it.

“The hell I will!”

Koutarou used both hands to push Tayuma back. When it came to the armor’s physical strength, Koutarou’s had the advantage. Forthorthian generators were superior in output.

“Braaaat!”

However, Tayuma’s was more agile. He quickly righted his posture and came at Koutarou again. Since his armor was made using spiritual energy technology, it was superior when it came to reacting to its user’s movements. On top of that, Tayuma was a master with the sword. His armor assisted his already swift and powerful swings, and helped him bring his blade down on Koutarou.

“No you don’t!”

His own sword wouldn’t make it in time, so Koutarou focused on his left hand. He was still wearing the gauntlet that let him create fire and electricity. Using its power, Koutarou created a fireball to counter Tayuma’s attack.

However, Tayuma’s armor was equipped with a spiritual energy field, the underground’s version of a barrier. It excelled at defending against natural phenomenon, and since Koutarou’s fireball was just a natural phenomenon created through converting spiritual energy, it didn’t harm Tayuma.

“Guh!”

However, with the flames blocking his view, Tayuma relented in his attack and distanced himself. Humans, like any animals, had a natural, instinctive fear of fire.

“You’re pretty good, brat...”

After getting some distance, Tayuma turned the tip of his sword on Koutarou once more.

“That’s my line. Aren’t you pretty old?”

Koutarou also pointed his sword at Tayuma. With their blades leveled at one another, their fighting spirits flared up.

“I can’t retire until I fulfill my duty for our great cause!”

“Then we’ll just have to force you into early retirement!”

“You’re full of crap, brat!”

Having lost his temper, Tayuma attacked Koutarou again. Koutarou calmly held Signaltin at the ready as he approached. GoL was actively assisting Kiriha all the while, but Koutarou himself was focused only on Tayuma.

“What’s the matter?! Weren’t you going to make me retire?!”

Tayuma unleashed a quick series of attacks to pin down Koutarou. Since multiple enemies surrounded him, his barrier and weaponry couldn’t focus on just Tayuma. On top of that, Harumi was busy dealing with other enemies and was unable to assist him. That meant that Koutarou had his sword skill alone to rely on to fend off Tayuma. Tayuma came from a long line of warriors, and his skill with a blade was considerable. On top of that, his armor made him more agile than Koutarou, which left Koutarou on the defensive. He was being cornered. But even so, he was smiling.

“No, I said we would.”

And there was a good reason for that smile—he’d realized that he couldn’t lose.

“Sorry for keeping you waiting, Koutarou!”

“Kurano’s daughter?!”

The next thing he knew, Tayuma’s sword was intercepted by Kiriha’s naginata. Tayuma looked at her in surprise. She should have been busy dealing with the other troops.

“Don’t forget about us, ho!”

“The brothers of flame and thunder, Karama and Korama, are here, ho!”

With Tayuma stopped in his tracks, Karama and Korama assaulted him with fire and electricity. Since Tayuma had just launched his attack, part of his spiritual energy field was down. And part of the haniwas’ attack managed to make it through that gap.

“D-Damn it! You damned automated dolls!”

Tayuma’s armor was scorched and he had received a slight shock, but it was hardly enough damage to take him out. As expected, they’d need to get in more than just a partial hit. In order to avoid taking an attack from Kiriha and the haniwas together, Tayuma took a great leap backward to distance himself from them. As he did, he realized why Kiriha had suddenly come to support Koutarou.

“Impossible! This easily?!”

What he saw was the original squad of thirteen in the execution chambers collapsed on the floor. It was Harumi and the others’ doing. Defeating the thirteen soldiers with the weakest firepower wasn’t all that difficult. And once that was over with, Harumi and the others had moved on to helping out with the other enemies. That took a great load off of Kiriha and the haniwas’ shoulders, allowing them to move to Koutarou.

“Tayuma, our real fight starts now.”

The beam cannon on Koutarou’s right shoulder turned towards Tayuma. At the same time, the barrier generation device in Koutarou’s left shoulder adjusted its output. With Koutarou and Kiriha close by, GoL shrunk the barrier’s effective area and made it thicker.

“What?!”

“We don’t like... how you radicals do things,” Koutarou said, leveling his sword at Tayuma once more.

“Who cares if you don’t like it?!” Tayuma shouted out in rage.

Kiriha too readied her naginata and said, “We’re angry, Shijima Tayuma. Now, brace yourself! We’re going to completely destroy this false justice you speak of!”

The two haniwas were by her sides. Both she and Koutarou were serious. All of their equipment was pointed towards the enemy in front of them, towards Tayuma.

“Then it’s time for me to join in as well.”

“Maguz-sama?!”

“I have to protect my own justice. From people like you, that would look away from reality...”

Maguz, who had been surveying the battle from the rear, moved up to right behind Tayuma. He was holding a large bow in both hands that he had aimed at Kiriha.

“It’s dangerous, Maguz-sama!”

“Tayuma, it’ll be even more dangerous if you fall. We should work together here.”

“...I understand. But please focus on protecting yourself. You are our hope.”

“I shall.”

Koutarou and Kiriha. Tayuma and Maguz. The two pairs pointed their weapons at each other, completely unable to come to an agreement. There was no peaceful solution to their current standoff. Kiriha had desperately been trying to avoid it, but there was no longer anything she could do but fight.

“Let’s go, Koutarou!”

Kiriha took the lead and began running. Even as she did, she had her naginata at the ready and kept her surroundings in mind. Kiriha was a pacifist, but now that she had decided to fight, she was determined to win.

“I’ll follow your lead, so do your thing!”

Koutarou followed after Kiriha. As he did, he gave orders to the AI in his armor. Since he was going to let Kiriha take the lead, he needed to give his armor and GoL more detailed instructions than just to support them.

“I won’t let you!”

Maguz fired an arrow at the swiftly approaching Kiriha. The arrow was infused with pure spiritual energy and had spells cast on it to increase its speed and strengthen the arrowhead. And since the bow itself had been made under the assumption its user would be drawing it while wearing powered armor, it had power equal to that of a cannon.

“Nee-san!”

“It’s not a problem!”

The haniwas moved to protect Kiriha, but before they could, she unleashed the power hidden within her naginata. A surge of electricity created a huge electromagnetic field that threw the arrow off course.

The arrow sailed by Kiriha with a sound that was less like cutting though the air, and more like ripping through it. While she was spared thanks to the electromagnetic field, Kiriha would have been in serious trouble if it had hit.

“Now it’s my turn, Maguz!”

“I won’t let you, little girl!”

Kiriha moved to attack Maguz, but Tayuma stood in her way. He swung his sword in a wide arc in an attempt to cut her in half.

“I’m your opponent, Tayuma!”

Koutarou swiftly swung Signaltin and a crimson blade was formed from the arc he cut through the air. It was a basic attack spell, and while its power was weak and it couldn’t reach far, it was enough to slow down Tayuma.

“Curse you, brat! You’re always getting in my way! I hear you were even the one who got in the way of the incident eleven years ago!”

“That’s because you’re always up to no good with your evil schemes.”

“Justice is with us! And since you’re getting in the way, you’re the evil one here!”

“I couldn’t care less about what you call justice! I’m fighting for everyone’s happiness!”

While the crimson blade halted Tayuma, Koutarou stepped between him and Kiriha. Meanwhile, Kiriha swung down her naginata and sent a lightning bolt flying at Maguz.

“I won’t let you do as you please, Maguz!”

“It’s no use!”

However, Maguz didn’t even try avoiding the lightning as he nocked a second arrow. But his reaction, or lack thereof, was perfectly natural. He knew that the moment Kiriha’s lightning bolt touched his barrier, it would be readily dispersed. Maguz’s armor had been created with defense as its number one priority. Not only was he the commander, but he also wielded a weapon that required him to be stationary. A strong barrier was an absolute necessary.

“That might be the case if it were just me.”

“What?!”

“Ho! You’ve forgotten about us, ho!”

“Raiga, you still have a long way to go, ho!”

The next moment, Karama and Korama’s attacks assaulted Maguz. Karama used flames and Korama lightning.

“Guaaaaaaaah!”

Scorched by the flames and shocked by the lightning, Maguz let out a scream.

Karama and Korama, who were lacking in power, had been able to attack Maguz because he was focused on Kiriha and because they had small frames. While Kiriha was distracting Maguz, the haniwas had landed on the ground nearby. They then walked right up to him and unleashed their attacks at his feet. Even the powerful barrier generated by his armor didn’t fully cover his feet, so as to not obstruct his movement. And with Korama and Karama’s small size, they could attack him through the gap between the ground and where his barrier started.

“Guh! C-Curse you! You are but mere automatic dolls!”

While the attack had bypassed Maguz’s barrier, he was still wearing sturdy armor. Though he felt pain from the burns and numbness from the shock, he hadn’t taken enough damage to slow him down. If anything, now that his pride that had been hurt, he was quicker than ever to counterattack.

“He’s angry, ho!”

“I’m sure he’s making a scary face, ho!”

The haniwas swiftly flew up into the air to flee Maguz’s reach. Their joking remarks and taunting behavior angered Maguz even more and stripped him of his calm. He sent arrow after arrow up after them, but with their small size and agility, not a one hit.

“Maguz!”

“What an oversight!”

Kiriha’s naginata collided with Maguz’s barrier. The blow wasn’t enough to break through, but it brought Maguz back to his senses. With that, he gave up on chasing after the haniwas and turned his focus on Kiriha again.

“You seem to be in a fluster because things aren’t going to plan, Maguz!”

“That’s not true at all! If I kill you here, my plans will all work out nicely!”

Maguz drew an arrow with all of his might and fired it at Kiriha, standing just past his barrier. At such close range, she would feel the full brunt of its power. A point-blank shot was the strongest Maguz’s longbow could deliver.

“This is why I said you were in a fluster.”

Kiriha didn’t even try dodging the arrow, and simply stood there smiling.

“What?!”

The arrow pierced Kiriha’s chest, but when it did, she vanished like smoke. And when one Kiriha vanished, another appeared from some dozen centimeters to the side. This one was the real Kiriha—Maguz had fired at an illusion.

“That’s how things like this happen.”

Kiriha thrust her naginata forward, right through the hole in Maguz’s barrier that had been opened for his arrow.

“Guaaah! Impossible! How could you fool me so?!”

Her naginata struck Maguz’s hand holding the bow. The blow shattered both his gauntlet and the bow, leaving Maguz’s left hand exposed. Though it was bleeding, the armor had protected him from the worst of the attack. Maguz quickly readied a new weapon.

“But I won’t let it happen again!”

What he pulled out was a large gun. It was the same as the mechanical soldiers’ guns, but it could also fire magic. It had been specially made just for him. It was his ace in the hole.

“Take thiiiiisss!”

Maguz fired three times. For some reason, however, he wasn’t firing at Kiriha, but in a direction where no one was standing. But the fired bullets suddenly changed direction after leaving Maguz’s barrier and came straight for Kiriha. As they did, each changed into two bolts of lighting. The gun had fired lightning magic.

“Hahahaha, surely you can’t avoid this!”

Maguz laughed loudly, convinced of his victory as the six lightning bolts rained down on Kiriha. Blinded by the flash, Maguz lost sight of her.

“They’ll keep on coming, Kurano Kiriha!”

Despite that, he had no intention of stopping his attack. Before the flash even died down, he had his finger back on the trigger. Once he could see again, he would attack again.

“Though you can use magic, you’re a novice when it comes to combat magic, Maguz.”

But that was when something surprising happened. When the flash vanished, Kiriha was right in front of Maguz.

“What?!”

His eyes shot open wide in surprise. It didn’t seem like Kiriha had been hit at all. Moreover, she was inside the effective area of his barrier. He didn’t know how, but something had allowed her to slip through it.

“This ends here, Maguz!” Kiriha shouted as she swung her naginata at Maguz.

“I won’t let you!” he shouted back, pulling the trigger.

At this distance, even if we both hit, I’ll come out on top because of my armor!

He fired three times just like before. He wouldn’t miss at this range, and sure enough, the bullets flew straight for Kiriha. According to his calculations, there was no way he could lose here.

“...This is why I said you’re a novice, Maguz.”

“Whaaat?!”

But Maguz was left surprised once again. The Kiriha who was attacking him vanished like smoke a second time. In her place, another Kiriha appeared where Maguz had fired his first round of lightning bolts. He’d attacked yet another illusion.

“Hahaha, which one of us here is the novice?! You’re hurt all over from the electricity!”

Surprised as he’d been, this time Maguz wasn’t shaken. He could now see that Kiriha had actually taken damage from the lightning bolts. Her protection had been imperfect, and some of the electricity had badly burned her. So he continued to laugh at Kiriha, once again convinced of his victory.

“A magic battle is a battle of creativity, Maguz. Since you can only think conventionally, you’re doomed to lose.”

Despite her burns, Kiriha was smiling. At this point, she’d already won.

“Guaaaaaaaah!”

The next moment, an explosion went off in Maguz’s armor. It was the pipe supplying the armor with power from its generator. It was one of the few weak points of the armor. And after taking a hit there, Maguz’s armor suffered severe damage. The barrier vanished, and the armor ceased functioning.

“Nee-san is a genius, ho!”

“Nobody else could come up with that kind of strategy, ho!”

The ones that had attacked Maguz were Karama and Korama, who had snuck inside of his barrier. Everything had gone according to Kiriha’s plan.

“Ugh, I see... So that’s what the second illusion was for...”

That was where Maguz realized he had fallen for a trap.

The second illusion was to get him to open up a hole in his barrier. When he used his gun, the armor’s system automatically created a hole in the barrier for him to fire through. If they knew where that opening would be, the haniwas could infiltrate it. That was where the second illusion came in. Koutarou had created it according to Kiriha’s wishes.

Kiriha had only used two basic illusion spells. That was all she required to overcome Maguz, who was repeatedly firing off higher level spells. It was a complete and utter victory for Kiriha thanks to her creativity.

“Surrender, Maguz. Surely you can’t move anymore.”

Kiriha walked up to Maguz and turned her naginata on him. She was burned all over, but it didn’t seem to impede her movement any. Maguz, on the other hand, was all but stuck now that his armor had lost power. The defensive suit was reduced to nothing more than a heavy shackle.

“You should know my answer, Kurano Kiriha.”

“Will you say the radical faction will continue fighting even without its leader?”

“That’s right. Even if I’m not the one in charge, we can still at least reclaim our homeland.”

Maguz had accepted his defeat, but a dark fire continued burning in his eyes. It was the smoldering embers of madness.

“I’m sorry to hear that, Kasumi Raiga.”

“No, I am Maguz. The leader of the radical faction.”

“Then, Maguz, take responsibility for what you’ve done.”

Confirming his madness, Kiriha swung her naginata down on him. While the blow was light, the electricity it unleashed caused Maguz to faint.

“Why didn’t you use that indomitable spirit for the sake of your people...?”

And so Kiriha defeated Maguz and came out on top. However, her expression was far from bright. She knew that even victory in this battle was defeat in a sense. That’s why she couldn’t bring herself to celebrate it.

With the fall of Maguz, the radical faction soldiers’ movements grew noticeably duller. There were still twelve of them fighting, but having lost their commander, unrest spread and their morale plummeted. They still had several mechanical soldiers and the automatic machine guns left, but with the people ordering them around in a panic, they would never bring their full strength to bear. They couldn’t stand up against the attacks from Harumi and the others, and eventually fell one after another.

“Why?! Why can’t we win?! We should have had enough forces! We analyzed the data from the factory and had more than enough troops! So how did this happen?!”

Maguz’s defeat came as a huge shock to Tayuma. To him, Maguz was the very embodiment of justice. He was their savior who would use his vast knowledge and excellent leadership to cut a path into the future for the People of the Earth. Losing him was devastating. Looking at him and the other fallen soldiers, Tayuma recoiled and stepped backward, utterly shaken. Unable to accept the reality before him, all he could do was scream and shout.

“It’s only obvious. There’s something you didn’t take into consideration.”

“And what is that?!”

“Kiriha-san’s kindness. In other words, love.”

“Love?! Preposterous! Who needs love when you have justice?! Justice is on our side!”

“You lost precisely because you don’t understand that. If you understood how proud a leader Kiriha-san is, then victory would’ve been yours.”

When Kiriha fought, she always tried to make sure her allies came out as unscathed as possible. And since her enemies were her fellow People of the Earth, even if they were the radical faction, one could still say that they were her allies in a way. She had never forgotten that, and fought to prevent casualties on both sides.

However, this fight in particular was different. Cornered with no way to back down, she had prepared herself to face casualties both among her enemies and her allies. Of course, she didn’t want that. But if she was going to ask others to be willing to sacrifice themselves, she was prepared to do the same. It was the only way she knew how to do things.

And with that resolve, Koutarou and the others were far stronger today than they had been in the battle at the factory. Walking into this fight unafraid of getting hurt, they were willing to take greater risks than normal. That was the reason why Koutarou had said that just escaping alive would be easy.

“Or maybe it’s the other way around. You don’t care about the lives of your allies at all, so you’re always fighting at your limits. You’re fundamentally different from Kiriha-san and the others who hold back their powers for others.”

“As if I could accept something so vague and mushy! All we need is absolute justice! Rule under absolute justice will lead to eternal prosperity!”

Tayuma believed in the radical faction’s cause, and he believed that Maguz would become their ruler. But with Maguz defeated, that belief was starting to waver. But he didn’t want to accept it. He couldn’t. To deny it, he yelled his beliefs as loud as he could like he meant to reaffirm them.

“Surrender, Tayuma. Your justice wasn’t absolute at all.”

Koutarou turned his sword towards the reeling Tayuma. As he did, Harumi and the others lined up behind him. Their side of the fight had just ended too. And with that, all of the radicals in the execution chamber, aside from Tayuma, had been neutralized.

“D-Damn it! But if I call for reinforcements—”

Tayuma moved to use his armor to call for reinforcements. He simply couldn’t accept defeat.

“Why?! Why is nobody answering?! This is an emergency!”

However, he got no reply from the command room he was supposedly connected to. Since he was Maguz’s right hand, the operator always answered as quickly as possible.

“It’s no use. This base is already under the conservative faction’s control.”

It was Kiriha that answered Tayuma’s question. She then placed herself strategically to block his retreat. She had no intention of letting him get away.

“There is no longer anyone who will stand with you. Surrender, Tayuma. It’s over.”

Kiriha coolly declared that the battle was over, and not just in the execution chamber. When Koutarou and the others barged into the execution chamber, a conservative faction force was infiltrating the rest of the base. They’d cut off the communications from the inside, occupied the command room, and neutralized the base in its entirety. The base no longer had any resistance to offer.

“No, not yet! This isn’t over yet! Maya!”

“All right, all right. You really do work me to the bone...”

But there was still one person capable of fighting. A single woman wearing an indigo outfit. Maya, a magician of Darkness Rainbow who had mechanically replaced parts of her body after being seriously injured in order to return to active service.

The magicians and the radical faction shared technology, but they had made it a policy not intervene in each other’s battles. It was meant as a measure to make sure that they didn’t get in each other’s way, which was why Maya had sat out both today and during the battle at the factory.

But there were exceptions to everything. Maya owed the radical faction two favors. One for restoring her body, the other for information she’d received from them regarding the People of the Earth. In return, she’d promised to lend her aid if they ever really needed it. She’d repaid the first favor by breaking Tayuma out of jail, and she planned on repaying the second right now.

“Maya?!”

“It’s been a while, boy.”

Maya seemingly appeared from out of Tayuma’s shadow and gave Koutarou a big smile. It was so bright that Koutarou almost forgot the situation he was in for a moment.

“But sadly, I don’t have the time to play with you...”

“Maya, help me and Maguz-sama escape!”

Tayuma had called for Maya so that she could get him and Maguz out. Using her magic, he thought they should be able to escape without a problem.

“It would be impossible for me to save both of you in this situation.”

However, Maya shook her head. In the past she might have been able to help both of them escape, but having lost the majority of her body, she no longer had that much mana. It put her at quite a disadvantage at times like this.

“...Then there’s no choice! Just save me!”

“Oh, you’ll leave Maguz behind?”

“I still have a way to turn this around! I can always take him back later!”

“So that’s what you mean. I understand.”

Realizing what Tayuma was up to, Maya nodded and raised her right arm. A miniature staff had been built into it, which she was going to use to cast a spell to get them out of the base.

“Koutarou!”

“I know!”

Seeing that Tayuma and Maya were about to escape, Kiriha and Koutarou charged at them. They had to catch Tayuma to truly end this battle.

“Recall Precast Teleport.”

However, Maya swiftly activated her spell. It worked so quickly that by the time Kiriha and Koutarou reached them, Tayuma and Maya were already wrapped in mana. Not even Harumi and Yurika’s counter spells had made it in time.

“Fuhahahaha, this isn’t over yet, brat! We will definitely win! Because justice is with us!”

“Goodbye, boy. Let’s meet again someday.”

Tayuma and Maya vanished, leaving behind only the blue light of her spell. Maya had used a teleportation spell, and while she didn’t have the same range with it she once did, it was more than enough to get them out of danger in an emergency.

“Damn it, they got away!”

“Koutarou, we can’t give up yet! They should be headed towards the island!”

“I see! They’re going to use the earthquake weapon!”

Tayuma’s goal was to use the earthquake weapon to cause catastrophic damage to Sial and to the conservative faction. It would cause war to break out on the surface, leaving the conservative faction with no choice but to give in to the radical faction. After that, it would be a simple matter to have them release Maguz.

“Let’s go after them right away! There’s no time to lose!”

“Yeah! Everyone, let’s go!”

Right after Tayuma and Maya disappeared, Koutarou and the others dashed out of the execution chamber. They had to join up with Theia and the others as quickly as possible and stop Tayuma from using the earthquake weapon.