Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon Vol 1 Chapter 37

Chapter 37: Those Travelling Through the Blue Sky

Who are those that move above

While seeming to embrace?

Point Allocation (Air Superiority)

A battle had begun in the air above the Musas.h.i.+.

Two sets of wings struggled against Tres España’s aerial mobility-enabled G.o.d of War.

The wings were white and black, but their clothes and flight equipment were the opposite colors.

The two sets of wings accelerated, stopped, reversed direction as if struck, and sometimes flew in an arc to evade.

The two sets of six wings were only used for midair att.i.tude control. Their speed was supplied by the cowling-covered broom and pen they rode as if clinging to.

They flew at high speed using those white and black accelerators that used Technomagie.

Black light burst from the nozzle covering the broom’s brush.

Several crop mark frames and a white line stabbing through them came from the tip of the pen.

They both moved about with enough speed to keep up with the G.o.d of War.

And it was all accomplished using Technomagie, the power of a Technohexen.

One was Weiss Techno and the other was Schwarz Techno.

Some basic Technomagie was common to both types, but Weiss Techno primarily created and restored things. It generally worked in the positive direction to aid the user.

On the other hand, Schwarz Techno primarily eliminated and decayed things. It generally worked in the negative direction and did not aid the user.

Originally, there had been no distinction. If the user harmed others or used it for their own benefit, it was considered Schwarz. Otherwise, it was considered Weiss. But once the witch hunt began and both sides were persecuted, the Technohexen cla.s.sified the spells as either Weiss or Schwarz to make the techniques simpler and easier to pa.s.s on. The division between positive and negative increased the speed of understanding and systematized the learning process. This lessened the all-encompa.s.sing power of Technomagie, but it also allowed the Technohexen techniques to survive.

Thus, the flying pair of white and black had similar and different aspects.

The white Technohexen flew using the acceleration that the pen tip drew in the air. The black one flew using the repelling force of the negative gravity produced from the brush of the wooden broom.

The black one had spells to reduce the acceleration resistance, so she was slightly faster. The white one could control what she drew, so she could make tighter turns.

But as they competed between speed and mobility, the battle required the unilateral use of power. While the G.o.d of War fired repeatedly with its rifle, the white and black sets of wings prepared their own weapon.

They both produced coins from the handheld safes they used for their legitimate transportation business.

The white one drew an arrow in the crop frame style magic circle opened around her and she placed a silver coin in it.

The black one accelerated a copper coin by pa.s.sing it through the speedometer style magic circle opened around her.

When the coins were loaded in, the spell reached them and they became bullets that wore down the G.o.d of War’s armor and sent sparks flying.

“But this isn’t enough to break through!!” shouted the white Technohexen.

Naruze clenched her teeth, but it was only partially to withstand the inertial forces.

…This p.i.s.ses me off!

Each of those shots would have been a considerable blow against a human, but they had only scratched the G.o.d of War’s armor at best. Naito lined up next to her for a moment and flapped her gold wings.

“I wish we had a decent attack spell, but we’re only allowed crime-fighting and self-defense spells in Musas.h.i.+!”

“Can we increase the pressure by upping the amount of auspuff!?”

“That thing is too fast!”

Naruze knew Naito was right. Their only combat training was the technique training against those in the land port with flight abilities, but that focused on tight turns and how many times one could accelerate in quick succession. Musas.h.i.+ had no aerial combat G.o.ds of War, so the only combat-related training was against people.

Everyone had their different modified accelerators and reinforced parts to increase their flight ability, but a G.o.d of War vastly outcla.s.sed them in both size and continued acceleration. The most they had were lessons and second-hand image training from former G.o.d of War pilots.

…But a real one is completely different!

Weiss Fräulein and Schwarz Fräulein were the previous year’s fastest schale on the market from the Technohexen brand of Edel Brocken. As the Thirty Years’ War approached, Technohexen began to be persecuted as a scapegoat for the people’s unease; the Fräulein series had supposedly been created as a means of resisting that. Because they were sold on the market and because they had been bought by Musas.h.i.+ residents, their weapons and equipment which could be directly used as such had been omitted; but that had made them lighter. With a few modifications they had requested of Musas.h.i.+’s transportation specialists, the individual devices had straight-line speeds approaching those of a G.o.d of War.

“But we can only just barely take one on while working together!” shouted Naruze as she thought.

…Still…

The lessons and training from the former G.o.d of War pilots were paying off with their practical skills.

Ignoring speed and mobility, they would have been immediately shot down if they had not experienced the practiced movements of a warrior during their training.

Also, their countless times using spell-modified airs.p.a.ce to fly full speed, raised ability attacks, and compet.i.tion between the two had given them the experience they needed to put up with the inertial forces and reckless turns they were making.

…We even developed spells to ensure the inertia doesn’t ruin our looks!

That data was sent back to Edel Brocken and Edel Brocken would send them products making use of that data or equipment created specifically for them. Edel Brocken was a gathering of Technohexen and those who had been kicked out of normal aviation jobs, and it seemed the Musas.h.i.+ was a good spot for showing off their products; so Weiss Fräulein and Schwarz Fräulein contained quite a few components designed specifically for Naruze and Naito.

Needless to say, their opponent was no different.

To achieve air superiority, each academy needed to defend against unilateral attacks from the sky. G.o.d of War pilots, especially those who used the few aerial combat models, were elites who understood their actions were directly linked to defending their nation.

Rumor had it that those charged with monitoring and guarding the Musas.h.i.+ were promising pilots who would use that duty to learn about the state of other nations, grow familiar with the sky, and ultimately become the elites who would protect their own nations.

“These are the people who monitor the Musas.h.i.+ with only a few G.o.ds of War,” shouted Naruze while rapidly braking and turning to avoid enemy fire. “But we’re representatives of Musas.h.i.+!!”

Three trajectories cut through the evening sky that was growing red.

In the span of a breath, sharp turns caused wings to creak and hair to whip about. Attacks continued to fly, but the hits were meaningless.

The enemy was closing in on the Technohexen, but their attacks were having no effect.

They nevertheless continued to fire because of the Magie Figur opened before their faces. It displayed a diagram of the enemy G.o.d of War from different angles and its weak points were highlighted. The indicators on the sight devices of its face, the base of its wings, the gaps between its sides and chest, etc. were linked to the targeting Magie Figur also floating before their faces.

If they brought the G.o.d of War into view and remained within firing range, they only had to watch. The targeting Magie Figur would select the closest weak point to their sight and make a decision after a short period of hesitation.

The black Technohexen took a nearly right angle turn and charged in.

The accelerator broom inscribed with the name Schwarz Fräulein did not eliminate the shaking produced by the black reactionary acceleration light.

The G.o.d of War attempted to shake her from its tail, but the black Technohexen would not allow it. She leaned forward while clenching the pressure-sensitive grip protruding from the bottom of the schale to squeeze the accelerator.

Schwarz Fräulein lurched but then its front end forcefully pointed in a different direction.

The nozzle surrounding the brush fired black light directly backwards.

“Here I go!!”

With that shout, Schwarz Fräulein sent all its trembling forward and moved.

The black Technohexen caught up. The shaking and air pressure caused her hair to wave about and she circled around to the G.o.d of War’s side as if being reeled in.

“Found it!!”

The black sign frame emitted a voice.

“Targeting complete.”

“Four shots!”

Just as she said, four speedometer style Magie Figur appeared and black copper coin bullets were accelerated from them.

The needles of the meters rotated and the small bullets were instantly given speed too great to be seen.

At the same time, a few numbers appeared in the Magie Figur.

“Margot! How much!?”

“Bullets are 72! Flight time is…6 minutes!”

Without checking to see if she hit, the black Technohexen turned to the right.

She braked.

Enemy bullets made of green light shot through the spot she had been in a moment before.

As the G.o.d of War held up its rifle as if stroking it, several pieces of paper scattered from it and the bullets pursued the black Technohexen. Meanwhile, the Technohexen’s copper coin bullets flew toward its face, but they hit the armor resembling the brim of a hat and merely sent out four bursts of sparks.

And…

To avoid being defenseless while firing, the G.o.d of War swung its wings and rotated to the left.

As the black Technohexen tried to circle behind it, it rotated to follow and it tried to fire in the Technohexen’s path. But the white Technohexen arrived from down and to the right as if trying to cover its entire body.

She had already fired four silver coin bullets in the same trajectory as an uppercut.

She was targeting the bottom of the chin. Even among a G.o.d of War’s movable parts, that spot had especially soft and thin armor.

The G.o.d of War was turning to the left, so it could not simply evade to the left or right. And even if it used its wings to escape upwards, the arrows of light would pursue it like an uppercut from below.

“I have you now!!”

In the instant the white Technohexen’s voice entered the air, the G.o.d of War took action. Of the four cross-shaped wings on its back, the large top pair rotated 180 degrees and pointed upwards.

They then flapped toward the heavens above.

With an explosion of air, the G.o.d of War’s giant form rotated back and to the left.

It spun.

It evaded the silver coins approaching its jaw, so they continued toward the heavens. The white Technohexen followed.

And after completing its rotation, the G.o.d of War turned its own gun barrel toward the white Technohexen flying above it.

It flapped its wings again. It swung its legs to perform att.i.tude control, bent backwards, and focused its vision on the black wings and white pen.

But…

The G.o.d of War had not forgotten about its original opponent.

The black Technohexen had circled to the left, so the G.o.d of War faced her, laid its wings on the side, and folded them up as much as possible.

It performed a flight attack while prepared to spin.

The attack consumed a large chunk of the tension from the spring device on its back that provided the source of its converted energy. As air was consumed by the wings, it was built up inside the G.o.d of War. The energy obtained from the spring device was added to the compressed wind and it was fired toward the black Technohexen.

It struck.

With an intense sound of impact, gold feathers scattered.

“Margot!”

The white Technohexen cried out as her partner was. .h.i.t.

And the G.o.d of War merely fired on her. It was rotating quite quickly, so its aim was not certain.

And so it fired repeatedly. Testamento Firma charms scattered from its magazine and the wind blew them about like a blizzard.

As expected, the bullets took scattered routes.

But they did their job. One of the bullets smashed into the back of the long pen-shaped staff the white Technohexen frantically held up.

The Technohexen immediately drew anti-shock barriers. A great number of anti-shock barriers.

But they were weak. The crop frame style barriers were all smashed and the staff was destroyed.

The white staff bent and warped until the center burst.

The rapid loss of speed tossed the white Technohexen into the air while she still held the front end.

Behind her, black feathers scattered and the white staff exploded.

The change in the battle above the Musas.h.i.+ was visible from the western plain.

The hue of the explosion spreading through the air caused the Musas.h.i.+ side to gasp. Meanwhile, the combined Tres España and K.P.A. Italia unit quickly cornered the Musas.h.i.+ group.

“That settles it!”

Someone let out a shout.

“Those who follow the Testament’s guidance are on the side of justice!!”

As their enemy chanted, the Musas.h.i.+ group was driven to the foot of the mountain on the east side of the western plain.

“Those who follow the Testament’s guidance are on the side of justice!!”

While speaking as if teaching or warning the Musas.h.i.+ group, they readied their pikes and s.h.i.+elds and charged in.

They planned to bring the battle to an end.

Back in the sky, the aftermath of the white and black Technohexen’s defeat remained.

But the G.o.d of War had not stopped moving. The black Technohexen had yet to be completely shot down.

The explosion of air had knocked her away, but her equipment would be unharmed.

The impact would have put all of her muscles into a reflexive state of shock and she would be unable to control her body, but the G.o.d of War’s safety was not ensured until her equipment was destroyed or she was killed.

Without taking a break, the G.o.d of War pointed its wings upwards and tipped its upper body down.

It pursued the black Technohexen that fell while clinging to the black broom.

It aimed its rifle barrel and began to flap its cross-shaped wings.

But a voice reverberated from the sky.

“Ma-…”

It came from the heavens the G.o.d of War had already turned its back to. The injured Weiss Hexen that had been shot down there was speaking.

Her words were strained and she seemed to spit them out, but her voice still burst through the air.

“Margot! Wake up!!”

At the same time, a sign frame appeared next to both of their faces. It was a torii-style sign frame paid for by the sender.

“Wake up!!”

On Musas.h.i.+no’s deck, the members of Musas.h.i.+’s internal delivery union had run up the stairs.

A lot of them had been born in different nations and were of different races, but they all looked up into the sky.

“We’ve left Musas.h.i.+’s skies to you, so we can’t have you not protecting it now! Show me the spirit of the ones who stole the position of Edel Brocken tester from me!”

As if in response, a winged young man spoke to the old man in an old vermillion uniform standing next to him.

“Almirante! You were originally the ace of Tres España’s G.o.d of War unit, weren’t you!? Say something!”

“I suppose so,” said the man known as Almirante. He folded his arms. “Listen. I was the first of this group to lose to you two.”

But…

“I’m the strongest of the group, y’know? If you get it, then open your eyes, Zwei Fräulein!”

The G.o.d of War saw the black Technohexen’s body shake even as her six gold wings continued to scatter feathers.

“Ah.”

As she opened her mouth, she suddenly swung up her broom.

And she took action.

But aiming the brush toward the G.o.d of War required forcing her entire body to move and her face twisted in pain. The previous impact must have rattled her brain because her eyes were not focusing properly.

While still falling, she unsteadily held up the broom’s brush and a speedometer type Magie Figur appeared over it. She opened multiple layers of reactionary acceleration Magie Figurs to produce an acceleration cannon that created repeated acceleration.

She had not yet loaded a coin bullet. She was planning to expand the spell and raise the power to its limit.

Her lips moved weakly.

“After that, I expand ten acceleration emblems for up to 200 kph with the size at 1/10 of normal, so it will have a consumption of 200 ATELL each.”

She was performing the ATELL consumption calculations needed to construct Technomagie. Rather than calling in a spell as before, she was making a specific incantation to construct the spell for her attack. This was the original activation method for Technomagie.

But the movements of the broom were unsteady and she could not see the G.o.d of War. Even if she added a homing ability, it would not be able to home in on the G.o.d of War if her initial aim was poor.

But the G.o.d of War was not about to let its guard down.

And so it prepared to pull the trigger while making sure not to let its rifle barrel waver.

And then it noticed something.

It had not noticed earlier due to the red of the setting sun, but there was a light coming from its neck.

It was a narrow line of white light.

That was the light of the drawings made by the white Technohexen. Those drawings produced acceleration.

The G.o.d of War realized that line had been “drawn” when it rotated backwards to avoid the white Technohexen’s attack. It had rotated as if leaning backwards to let her continue on upwards.

“Ga-chan is a quick drawer, so you couldn’t completely evade,” said the black Technohexen in a trembling voice.

The fading light linked the G.o.d of war’s throat to the brush of the black Technohexen’s broom.

Weiss Techno used positive power.

Schwarz Techno used negative power.

What would happen if a negative bullet were placed on that line drawn with positive power?

The negative power would race along the positive power while absorbing it.

The light was no longer visible, but the Technohexen loaded the bullets. And these bullets were not just coins.

“Ten 1000 yen rolls of 10 yen copper coins! Go, average daily wage!!”

As soon as the Magie Figur latched onto the loaded coins, the black Technohexen cried out the word that settled the spell calculation.

“Herrlich!”

Once the ten coin bullets were given the power of decay, they were loudly launched.

They used the counter-current of the decaying power to fly along the line of acceleration drawn by the Weiss Hexen. Each type tried to outdo the other in its acceleration as the bullets traveled along.

The G.o.d of War swept its hand across in an attempt to defend.

Two struck its arm, knocking the arm out of the way.

The light drawn by the Weiss Hexen began to vanish, but the bullets had already accurately reached the G.o.d of War’s throat.

They stabbed into an area impossible to reach with a bullet that traveled in a perfectly straight line. They struck the border between armor panels that had to be left open so the G.o.d of War could move.

The bullets would normally have been completely stopped by the armor.

“Schlag!!”

But the guiding line allowed them to circle around the armor and strike along the same trajectory as a punch.

The impact lasted only an instant, but its effects continued on.

The shock of the impact broke the packaging of the roll of coins and the coins scattered.

A total of 800 shots flew from the right of the G.o.d of War’s jaw and into the structure of its head.

The inside was a collection of precise components and a specialized technician was needed to perform maintenance there. The armor’s range of protection was carefully calculated out, so it was normally unthinkable for a high-speed bullet to make its way inside.

But that unthinkable situation was happening now. For the G.o.d of War, the situation was similar to having its armor completely ignored as a shotgun was blasted through the jaw and into its head.

A G.o.d of War moved by taking the pilot into the c.o.c.kpit, combining with him, and gaining life. For that reason, each of its parts held the same function and structure as the corresponding part of a human body.

As the scattershot of coins sent an impact directly into the inside of its skull, the coins struck the inside frame and ricocheted. Each strike bent and transformed them; the bullets smashed the devices used in place of an upper and lower jaw. When some smashed the left hearing device, they struck the left inner wall.

They tore through the neurological device in the back that controlled the left half of the body and they shot out into the sky behind.

The G.o.d of War’s system had already performed an emergency shutdown on the connection with the pilot. The G.o.d of War had been abandoned to preserve the valuable pilot.

But the G.o.d of War retained the senses of the pilot for an instant and it forcefully bent back with no pilot.

Like a wave of blood, the coins illuminated by the red setting sun poured into the sky from the lower neck.

The G.o.d of War’s automatic controls spread the four cross-shaped wings on its back to stop its movements.

As a great number of coins, transfer fluid, and ether fuel burst from the front and back of the left side of the neck, the G.o.d of War fell.

Its wings still had power, so it automatically maintained its balance. However, the wind blew it around as its ma.s.sive form slowly fell.

On Musas.h.i.+no, the members of the delivery union looked up into the sky and understood what had happened.

Their cheers burst upwards.

But as some clasped hands, one old man slowly sat on the floor. He took a breath and a nearby young man spoke to him.

“Almirante, what is it?”

“I’d like to say it’s just that I’m tired, but that isn’t all. …It may be selfish, but I don’t like seeing a G.o.d of War from my old nation being destroyed. But it’s fine.” He pulled a small bottle of alcohol from his pocket and spoke to the others as they quieted down a bit. “Alcohol works for both celebration and mourning. Let’s celebrate for the two up there. You all remember how you were welcomed back after your first battle, don’t you?”

Two figures remained in midair.

The gold and black winged figures embraced in the evening sky.

They both caught their breath; the gold one had sweat on her brow, and the black one had blood. However, neither wiped the liquid away as they created a divine transmission Magie Figur in the air.

“Nes.h.i.+nbara, we’ve taken care of their G.o.d of War.”

“Good. We still have to worry about their cannons, but we don’t have to worry about an attack from above now. Come on back.”

“Judge,” they both said before eliminating the Magie Figur.

“Ha ha. Ga-chan, you got Weiss Fräulein destroyed.”

“Quiet.”

The white Technohexen embraced the black one even closer.

“Ga-chan, are you trembling?”

“So are you, Margot.”

They exchanged a glance and nodded slowly.

“Just for now.”

They both nestled close and joined their lips to rid themselves of their trembling. And…

“We managed,” said Naito as she licked up the blood on Naruze’s lips.

“Yes,” agreed Naruze.

When Naruze looked to the southwestern sky, Naito did the same.

“That s.h.i.+p let off some troops, so the ones in the western plain are having the hardest time right now. But…”

They slowly turned to the east. They looked to Asakusa, Musas.h.i.+’s first port s.h.i.+p. That cargo s.h.i.+p was hidden by the mountain in the center of the land port.

“Everyone’s counting on you. Hurry!”

On the western plain, the K.P.A. Italia and Tres España troops finally clashed with the Musas.h.i.+ group driven to the foot of the eastern mountain.

The combined unit’s morale was high. Their G.o.d of War had been shot down, but the Technohexen had been more or less taken out as well.

Their overwhelming advantage remained.

And their enemy had no way of sending in additional support. The mountain pa.s.s’s barrier was sealed and the Musas.h.i.+’s starboard side was held in check by the aerial s.h.i.+ps. Even if they attempted to cross the eastern mountain, they would put themselves within range of those s.h.i.+ps.

So…

“Pus.h.!.+ Don’t just try to stall them! Let’s go for a true victory!!”

They applied great pressure and pushed at the Musas.h.i.+ group that was deflecting their attacks with spears and charms.

“Crush them! That is how we will sever all of the Far East’s regrets!!”

With that cry, the combined unit began working in perfect unison. The one thousand K.P.A. Italia and Tres España troops worked together.

They sealed off the exit of the western plain and pushed Musas.h.i.+’s attack unit further eastward.

Their momentum and their wall of people applied great pressure to the Musas.h.i.+ group and tried to crush them as if sewing them to the foot of the mountain.

But someone let out a yell.

As the Musas.h.i.+ group quickly fell back, a slender figure at the center brought a hand to his forehead and looked up into the heavens.

“Ohhhhh! Right now! Literally everyone’s trying to penetrate me with their spear!!”

“You’re gonna distract us from defending, so quiet down!!”

But despite everyone shouting at him, Toori showed no change of expression and continued speaking while raising his arms.

“Ohhh! Please help me! Officer!!”

His cry carried into the distance. Naturally, no help came and the combined unit shouted back in unison.

“You aren’t getting any help, you idiot! How is help even supposed to get to you!?”

But that was when everyone heard a light sound of something bursting.

Twice, the sound reached them through the air.

It came from beyond the eastern mountain. It came from Asakusa, the Musas.h.i.+’s first port s.h.i.+p and a cargo s.h.i.+p.

A few of the soldiers recognized the sound.

“A G.o.d of War being launched?”

They had distinctly heard that sound twice.

“But not even the Musas.h.i.+ can launch a G.o.d of War over the mountain!”

“Yeah! You’re right! That’s meant to move our G.o.ds of War around the Musas.h.i.+ itself. It flies almost straight up and it doesn’t have enough height to cross the mountain,” answered Toori to explain exactly why it was impossible. But he did not stop there. “But we’ll show you that there’s another method that only the Musas.h.i.+ can pull off!”

“You have another method!?”

“Ha ha ha,” laughed Toori. “We do! I call it the Derrick Ultimate Destiny! C’mon, everyone!!”

“We have to go whether you tell us to or not!” shouted Naomasa from the shoulder of a red heavy G.o.d of War on Asakusa. She raised her right false arm. “Prepare yourself, Jizuri Suzaku!!”

With those words, Jizuri Suzaku lowered its hips.

A thick rope was attached to the back of its waist. The rope was one used with the derrick cranes and both ends pa.s.sed forward and up in a V-shape from either side of Jizuri Suzaku.

“Are the two derricks ready!?”

The two giant derricks used for carrying cargo, Asakusa’s first and second derrick, had the ends of their arms lined up to the side.

The rope extending from either side of Jizuri Suzaku pa.s.sed through and hung down from the pulleys on the left and right arms located 150 meters up. But…

Two G.o.ds of War were launched from up in the sky. They had anchors attached at the waist to weigh them down.

And the two G.o.ds of War fell at almost the exact same time.

Their trajectory slipped just past the derrick arms on either side and touched the ropes hanging down.

“Contact!!”

Without negating the momentum of their fall, the two G.o.ds of War grabbed the ropes as if colliding with them.

In an instant, the ropes grew taut and the ends of the derricks bent.

“Go!!”

All of those in work uniforms standing on the lines of cargo shouted out and the two G.o.ds of War continued to fall while holding the ropes.

The left and right ropes were pulled with blinding speed by the falling G.o.ds of War.

Sparks burst from the base of the pulleys and the ropes waved and drew tight.

The rest was simple. The center of the V-shape created by the two ropes was located at the back of Jizuri Suzaku’s waist.

“Oh.”

The ropes pulled it up, it floated, and then…

“Go!!”

The red G.o.d of War was launched into the sky as if by a catapult.

Atop Regno Unito, a single action occurred below the command and divine transmission tent.

The divine transmission arriving from different areas caused everyone there to stand up and look to the northern sky.

A red G.o.d of War flew through the sky after being forcibly launched.

Its legs and other parts had been given reinforced parts to withstand the launch and landing. It must have been used to being launched because it showed no sign of panic.

Someone spoke quietly below the command tent.

“If a G.o.d of War can fly that far, how far would something else go?”

The voice trembled slightly and a similarly shaking voice slowly answered.

“No, the lighter the object, the sooner it would decelerate, so it would not fly as far. …I think.”

“Either way, it’s going to land in the middle of our unit! If it falls that quickly along that trajectory, our corazzata can’t aim their anti-air weaponry fast enough!”

The foundation of their tactics had been for Musas.h.i.+’s aerial forces to be held back by the Testament Union’s aerial weaponry and the natural terrain.

The Testament Union had data on the Musas.h.i.+ and they understood how far it could launch things. They also had full understanding of the armaments it contained.

However…

“Who would have thought they could use it like this…” muttered someone.

“I have the estimated path of the G.o.d of War!!”

Everyone turned toward the female student in charge of divine transmissions. She took a breath before speaking.

“The center of the eastern plain! It will land in front of the combined unit currently concentrated on the southeastern side!”

“Have the northern side of the unit concentrate their defenses! Even if it’s a G.o.d of War, it’s only one! They can minimize the damage by focusing their defenses and falling back! After withstanding the blow, they can push back! And…”

And…

“Crush Musas.h.i.+’s chancellor while they do!!”

“Go, Jizuri Suzaku!!” cried Naomasa from the shoulder of the red G.o.d of War that had already begun to descend.

It had not flown far enough. They had hooked up the ropes at the angle they thought was best, but its weight was still a bottleneck.

…But the reinforced parts are necessary.

If it was going to fly, it needed to withstand the recoil of launching and the impact of landing. A medium or light G.o.d of War might fly further, but it would not hold up when it clashed with the enemy formation afterwards. And a person was so light it would decelerate.

Thus a heavy G.o.d of War was the only option.

But it was not flying far enough; it was going to land in front of the enemy formation.

The enemy clearly understood that. In the eastern plain below, the parts of the giant formation not heading toward Toori’s group had pressed together and were pointing their spell s.h.i.+elds forward.

The G.o.d of War had to crush them and rescue their fellow students.

“And after Naruze and Naito finally secured our air superiority!”

If an aerial combat G.o.d of War had remained in air during the launch and flight, Jizuri Suzaku could have been attacked. That was why they had made the preparations behind the cargo while Naruze and Naito battled the G.o.d of War.

And the two of them had done well.

“That just leaves our flight distance!!”

Naomasa knew the G.o.d of War was not going to reach.

But the corner of her mouth rose in a smile as she looked down at the one thousand or more white spell s.h.i.+elds.

“So their frontal defenses are perfect. In that case…” She shouted out. “Go, Mito!”

“I am right here. You do not have to yell.”

The color silver stood up on the opposite shoulder.

It was Mitotsudaira. She did not wear her uniform below her silver hair. Instead, she wore an outfit that resembled a light blue and white dress. However, her usual four long leather cases hung down from her hands and shoulders.

She leaped through the wind. She lightly and surely landed on Jizuri Suzaku’s left hand.

“Go!!”

Jizuri Suzaku swung its arm through the air and threw Mitotsudaira forward.

A silver flower blossomed over the heads of the combined unit preparing its defenses forward.

At thirty meters above the ground, Mitotsudaira’s silver hair whipped in the wind and the two leather cases in her hands opened.

“Go, Argent Chaîne!”

With those words, she pulled one meter obelisks from the cases.

The two obelisks connected to the hard points on the back of her shoulders. A dull metallic noise confirmed that they had clicked into place.

“Begin chain supply!”

The puffed out shoulders of her armor shook.

A slit opened in the sides of those shoulder puffs and the color red spilled out.

That color was a giant jewel resembling three claws.

But that was not all. The obelisks on her shoulders produced metallic noises and shook as the two jewels were pushed outwards, and something else followed them.

They were chains.

The chains were thicker than a human hand and the jewels hung from the ends. As they were released, they traveled along her arms like living creatures and pa.s.sed through metal loops attached to her wrists.

The chains were long and they were only growing longer.

The two chains instantly grew to silver tails measuring several meters and they swung wide around her.

She swung her arms backwards as if to strike something as she prepared for her landing.

She traveled toward the center of the one thousand man defense.

That unit had already focused their defenses on the front, so they were left almost defenseless against this overhead strike.

But the commanders of each individual unit shouted out.

“They’re just chains! Endure the first strike and crush her when she lands!!”

“Oh, how cra.s.s.”

As she fell, Mitotsudaira swung the chains. She swung them upwards as if to circle around behind her.

“My Argent Chaîne are not mere chains. They are intelligence chaîne.”

Something flew in behind her.

The giant metal objects resembled arms. They were the reinforced parts attached to Jizuri Suzaku’s arms so it could withstand the recoil of being launched. They weighed several tons each and they had been thrown toward Mitotsudaira’s back.

Everyone thought they would hit her.

“These transmit my strength and can be called a part of my body.”

The jewel-like decorative claws at the ends of the Argent Chaîne grabbed the G.o.d of war parts.

The chains casually swung the ma.s.ses of metal upwards. The movement started gently but eventually became a smas.h.i.+ng movement.

Mitotsudaira bent the several meter pieces of metal as if trying to throw her entire body forward.

“In the name of the Argent Loup, let out a howl, Argent Chaîne!!”

She used brute strength to attack the thousand soldiers.

The two strikes from overhead were disastrous for the formation with its defenses focused forward.

The attack was cleverly made to cross slightly to the left and right so as to knock everyone outwards.

A cascade of intense noises spread out.

The soldiers were not just swept away or knocked away. They were blown away by a combination of the two.

The instant of impact appeared to happen in slow motion, but the people were thrown high into the air an instant later. Some were slammed into the ground, some flew further into the air, and others struck their fellow soldiers. The only things that were certain were the sounds of impact, the mixture of screams, and the person standing in the several meters of cleared s.p.a.ce.

“Musas.h.i.+ Ariadust Academy’s 5th Special Duty Officer, Nate ‘Argent Loup’ Mitotsudaira. I look forward to having you as my opponent.”

As she spoke, her blue outfit wrapped its arms deeply around her body.

Synchronized with that action, the silver chains flew in an arc. The ma.s.ses of metal were half buried in the ground, but they were easily lifted into the air and pursued the arcing path of the silver chains.

And they struck the people who were taking defensive stances.

That was when it began.

The soles of Mitotsudaira’s shoes became triangular blades and she stabbed just the right one into the ground. With that supporting her, she swung her body around.

Her arms raced about as if fluttering in the wind and the chains reached the enemies faster than whips.

The ma.s.sive pieces of metal rotated around her. The rotation reached 360 degrees and knocked the enemies away like a windstorm.

Her attack hit.

They tried to endure but were ultimately unable to. In an instant, several dozen soldiers flew into the air.

Even in armor, a human weighed no more than 200 kilograms. For the pieces of metal being swung around at high speed, that was like a baseball bat hitting the ball dead on. The ones launched upwards were the lucky ones. The ones slammed to the ground took out their own comrades and were unable to even scream.

Each strike took out several people as she wore down their numbers.

The storm of blows did not stop. The sounds continued, more s.p.a.ce was opened, and the chains extended further.

And then Mitotsudaira raised the speed of her rotation.

“I have come to save you, my king!”

The silver wind continued across the battlefield without end.

With each step, she swung her entire body and swung the chains such that they intersected. The spiraling light of the chains raced through the air, pulled back, squeezed, arced once more, undulated, danced, and knocked even more people through the air with each consecutive sound of impact.

It was a storm of silver light.

And Mitotsudaira bent back and swung her arms back as if they were wings.

The chains racing ahead of her flew behind her like waves.

And then she flapped those wings. She lowered her upper body almost to the ground before swinging both arms forward along either side. The ma.s.ses of metal flew horizontally. With repeated snaps of the wrist, the people along their paths were launched into the air.

“Strike!”

As they flew forward, the two pieces of metal a.s.saulted the back of the unit charging toward Toori’s formation.

It hit them hard.

The strike from an unexpected direction slowed the charge, but Mitotsudaira’s chains had grown lighter.

She only had the chains now and the enemy noticed.

“Now!”

With that shout, they held their s.h.i.+elds and pikes toward her.

They had enough numbers to push her back, so they charged in with their spears without thinking about friendly fire.

But their movements were too slow and lacking in skill. Mitotsudaira quickly drew back the Argent Chaîne and swung them around.

“Heh,” she laughed quietly.

She then opened the lids on the bottom of the cases on her shoulders.

Those charging toward her watched in surprise.

“Two more.”

By lowering her waist, the obelisks attached to the chain suppliers at the base of the slits on either side of her skirt.

Chains were instantly released from either side of her waist. They wrapped around her arms and gave her four in total.

From there, she could do as she pleased.

Before the enemy made it even a few steps, her Argent Chaîne grabbed the chests of four of them.

With an instantaneous movement, the claws grabbed them and lifted them up.

It slammed them to the ground, grabbed another and repeated the process.

Mitotsudaira moved as if dancing. She moved her arms like wings, she tore at the air, she leaned forward, she leaned backwards, she rotated around, and she became the eye of the storm.

The silver chains danced through the air around her. They formed a helix around her slender body, surged out like waves, and shot out in straight lines. They swung enemies around, swept them away, tossed them, grabbed new enemies, swung them upwards, slammed them down, and occasionally grabbed an abandoned cannon to slam it into them.

She danced. The Argent Loup continued the unrestricted howling dance of the silver chains.

In the center of the storm of Argent Chaîne, Mitotsudaira’s dance led the movements of the chains.

There were weapons everywhere in the storm. Even an enemy soldier would work.

The chains transmitted her strength. Rather than simply swinging around, their paths changed to match the movements of her arms and they raced about devouring the enemy like a beast.

As the enemy drew back in fear, the chains grabbed four of them and lifted them up high.

“There is no need to fear me. After all, our chancellor does not fear me.”

Her words led to her power beginning to move once more. The enemy let out screams and moved away, so she pa.s.sed through the opening, ignored those with their backs turned, attacked those still resisting, and ran onward.

The silver wind destroyed the enemy formation as she moved to the east.

She swept away the group as if opening a gate to Toori’s group at the foot of the mountain to the east.

She swept through them and faced forward.

She had arrived, so she let out a warm breath while ignoring the sweat on her brow.

“Can I hope for words of thanks? Or will you be using my old debt here?”

The idiot raised a hand and answered while clinging to a tree.

“Okay, good girl. Stay, stay.”

“I-I am not a dog.”

“True,” he immediately replied. “You’re a knight.”

Mitotsudaira almost smiled at that.

But she restrained herself. Only the slightest hint of a smile reached her face, but it was a full-faced smile in her heart.

“I will pave a path, my king. So that you might seek your loss. And leave the rest to me. I will make sure none here pursue you.”

And…

“That is something only I can do.”

A moment later, a sound of great impact came from the recovering enemy formation behind her.

Naomasa’s Jizuri Suzaku had charged into the regrouping combined unit.

Silence had fallen over the white K.P.A. Italia s.h.i.+p named Regno Unito.

The sounds of battle could be heard in the distance and a divine transmission had arrived to describe the situation.

The aerial s.h.i.+ps over the western plain continued to fire on the Musas.h.i.+ while falling back in the southern sky. That was to prevent the Musas.h.i.+ forces from boarding them now that a G.o.d of War and a knight had arrived in the battle below.

The Testament Union was falling back, but the command center and divine transmission center were both motionless.

But then a sudden voice broke that silence.

“This is about imagination.”

Those words sent a chill through the silent area.

Everyone saw a white figure stand up from the table set on the front deck.

A middle-aged student in the command center frantically spoke up.

“Your holiness, there is no need for you to get up.”

“Can your imagination keep me in this chair? Hm? Can it?”

Innocentius’s eyebrows rose in a smile and he looked to the north.

About a kilometer away, Musas.h.i.+’s guard unit was surging from the eastern plain’s exit.

The Testament Union had cargo s.h.i.+ps at all important points and the remaining land units were prepared to intercept. But Innocentius spoke quietly as he saw the Musas.h.i.+ students’ momentum.

“Super derricks over 150 meters in height can only be found on the Musas.h.i.+. They must have had all sorts of silly ideas while looking up at them, day in and day out. And that has given them reinforcements who can literally handle a thousand troops singlehandedly. Even if we use armies, weaponry, and heroes to fight in the style of this era, we cannot bind them. With their level of imagination, I will surely be forced to leave my chair.”

He grabbed the water bottle from the table, sipped, and took a breath.

“In that case, we need imagination too. These idiots are willing to say they hate me to my face, but I will not crush them with words. I will prove myself with results. And to do that, I will use every means available to me. And that includes heading out myself. Isn’t that right? Hm?”