(Hmm... what?)
The blurred vision and the strange feeling of a distant sound getting closer was something Uiharu had experienced before. It was similar to when she was forced to lose consciousness during her combat training class, something she wasn't good at. The difference was that when she lost consciousness, the sounds would feel as if they were getting farther away.
"—Huh? A comatose patient is starting to struggle? Shou's suspicious about it? Ah, but after keeping him at a distance for so long, I can't ask him for help now. If I do that, we won't be able to fight together again. Yeah, yeah, I got it. I'll leave that side to you."
Into her blurry vision came a young woman with loosely permed blonde hair and a sweet, vanilla-like scent.
"Huh? Hey Aria, what are you doing? On your way? Flying? I don't care, just get here quickly. Not that I know if you'll be of any use. A strange monster showed up and—"
A rough argument was taking place.
"Is that Asuna? Aria will be here in a little bit. She said she's bringing some weapon she got from Shou or something. Just hold on a little longer. Okay, then, let me... Kazari-chan~, good morning~, if you don't wake up, I'll play a trick on you~"
The tone of voice suddenly changed to a sweet one.
"Mmm... okay, I guess I'll lift your skirt. Let's see, what kind of underwear is Kazari-chan wearing today—"
(Lift my skirt? Underwear... underwear!?)
"Wha—what are you doing, Mine-senpai!!"
"Ah, you're awake."
The heat that had built up inside her skirt escaped as it was lifted. At the same time, Uiharu's consciousness was fully awakened.
"Sorry, sorry. It's an emergency."
"An emergency...? Ah! What happened to Kiyama-sensei!? What happened after that—huh? W-what is that...?"
Uiharu's eyes caught sight of something she had never seen before in her life, something so grotesque and unworldly. It was the Imaginary Beast, a massive, fetus-like creature that had repeatedly inflated from the continuous attacks and undergone a great transformation.
"I don't really know either. But it seems like that's the final boss. Kazari-chan, you got something from Kiyama-sensei, right? Something that can do something about the Level Upper?"
"Ah, y-yes. This."
Uiharu took out a memory card from her pocket.
"Okay, use it right away. We don't have time to explain what that monster is, but if we can neutralize the Level Upper, we might be able to defeat it."
"Y-yes! I understand!"
"I've already talked to the Authority, so we can use the equipment in that communications vehicle."
Riko pointed to a vehicle that had barely escaped the aftershocks of the battle with Kiyama.
The Authority agents who had regained consciousness were also using their guns to fight the Imaginary Beast. But it was having no effect. Since their original goal was to secure Kiyama, they hadn't brought much special equipment, so this was all they could do.
The Imaginary Beast, which was rampaging aimlessly, was swinging its tentacles as if to swat away annoying flies—but Asuna and Misaka, who were fighting at the front, were somehow holding it off by destroying the tentacles before they could hit.
It was reckless to engage in a never-ending battle with the infinitely regenerating Imaginary Beast. This battle depended on whether the memory card Uiharu had received could weaken the Imaginary Beast.
Without a detailed explanation, Uiharu vaguely understood this and swallowed.
"You two, over here!!"
An agent waved his hand near the communications vehicle. The two of them hurried toward him.
"Watch out! Get down!"
A tentacle that couldn't be parried struck the asphalt, creating a crack that ran in a straight line from one end to the other.
Once they started to be pushed back, they fell into a bad cycle. The shockwaves from the tentacles, and the fireballs, lightning, and ice from Kiyama's Multiskill. No matter how strong Asuna and Misaka were, their stamina was not infinite.
The tides of battle were turning at the worst possible time.
The approaching attack was—obliterated by an energy cannon from a distance. Tina was also providing support with her Butei bullets, but this was clearly not Tina's support.
A gigantic object was flying in the sky.
" "...Huh?" "
A predominantly white body, a large container, boosters, and a long, eye-catching cannon barrel. And yet, compared to its true size, it was a greatly shrunken mobile weapon.
Aria joined the battle, bringing with her the mobile fortress known as the Dendrobium.
『Sorry to keep you all waiting!』
"A-Aria!?"
Aria joined the battle, bringing with her the mobile fortress known as the Dendrobium. Aria's proud voice echoed through the headset.
"Is that... the weapon you got from Shou?"
『That's right. Leave the rest to me!』
As a result of being adjusted to this world, the MSs that were originally close to 20 meters and the MAs that were even larger had become something like a powered suit that a person could wear. It felt like an 'MS Girl.'
When Shou learned of this, Aria was just visiting him, so he suggested she try using the Dendrobium. And with her overflowing talent, Aria mastered piloting the Dendrobium after only a few days of training.
It was no longer a weapon to just blow a hole through something, but in this situation, it was the best possible reinforcement. It was too out of the ordinary.
"Kazari-chan, let's hurry."
"Y-yes! Right."
The two were guided by the agent and entered the communications vehicle. Uiharu inserted the memory card into the device and operated the screen. She had a difficult expression on her face, but it changed in about 10 seconds.
"...Huh? This is..."
"What's wrong?"
"This doesn't seem to be a very difficult program. It's music."
"Music?"
The surrounding Authority agents made a strange sound, but Riko nodded as if she understood.
"...If we're talking about the original story, the Level Upper was music, so it makes sense that what counters it is also music. So, is it going to be okay?"
"Yes. With these specs... I'll hack into the hospitals where the comatose patients were transported and the speakers all over the town to play it from there too..."
"Ha-hacking!? What are you—"
"Yes, yes, don't get in the way~. Kazari-chan, I'll leave the rest to you."
"Yes!! You can count on me!"
Riko went outside with the Authority agent who was about to do something unnecessary, so as not to disturb Uiharu, who was tapping on the keyboard without taking her eyes off the screen.
---------
The Dendrobium, piloted by Aria, charged at the Imaginary Beast. The immense thrust and the charge, which accepted a certain amount of damage, gave the rampaging Imaginary Beast a shock strong enough to lift it slightly off the ground.
She then swung the large beam saber and shaved off its surface.
"aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!"
Even though it would regenerate immediately, the Dendrobium's participation had a great impact on the battle both physically and psychologically.
"I'll hold it off for a while! Save your strength for the end!!"
A large number of missiles were launched from the Dendrobium's weapon container as it circled in the air.
With a grating scream, a net of lightning was radiated, shooting down all the missiles.
The Imaginary Beast's hatred was now completely directed at Aria, and the injured Authority agents on the bridge began to evacuate during this opening. There were not many reckless people who would jump into a clash between an otherworldly monster and a giant superweapon.
The Imaginary Beast was the product of a network of 10,000 espers. Like Kiyama, who used the network as a Multiskill, it was indiscriminately unleashing a wide variety of abilities.
With a rough aim, without a shred of strategy, as if a person were swatting away a bug flying nearby.
The experienced girls at the scene were having a hard time dealing with the Imaginary Beast, which was so different from a human in shape and took actions that completely ignored all conventional wisdom.
The methods for dealing with humans were completely ineffective.
Asuna and Yukina were the only ones who could barely keep up.
"You...!"
Even with Aria's genius, the much larger machine was not without its scratches. The bigger it was, the bigger the target.
Her flight was not hindered, but scratches were gradually becoming more noticeable on the armor. She continued to attack just enough to keep the aggro, while constantly avoiding attacks.
The change happened suddenly.
A tentacle that burst from a chance explosion. However, there was one difference from before. The tentacle did not regenerate.
Which meant.
"It's here! You're late, Riko!!"
『It wasn't me who did this, it was Kazari-chan.』
Aria snorted and activated her weapon. The huge protruding barrel heated up and roared.
To avoid unnecessary damage, she positioned herself directly above the Imaginary Beast.
"Get ready to be obliterated!!!"
As she pulled the trigger, an immense bundle of light poured down on the Imaginary Beast. The enormous heat and energy were powerful enough to vaporize the ground. Everyone held their breath at the superweapon's ultimate attack, something even Butei wouldn't often get to see.
However,
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!"
Even though it was tattered, the Imaginary Beast had not fallen.
『No way...! It can still move after taking that!?』
Riko, who was sure of victory, also unintentionally reverted to her other tone after seeing the sight.
"Then I'll just hit it with another one!!"
Just as she was about to recharge the main cannon, a communication came in. But it wasn't from one of Aria's allies.
『Is this Kanzaki H. Aria? I want you to listen to what I'm about to say.』
It was Harumi Kiyama.
---------
While Aria in the Dendrobium was holding the front line, Asuna and the others retreated a bit to recover their stamina.
In front of them, a battle of barrages that could be described as a monster battle was taking place. The firepower was so great that cutting down the opponent with a sword seemed foolish.
The Dendrobium, which had the advantage at first, was gradually being pushed back.
"This is annoying."
"Yeah. It's not fair that it regenerates no matter how much we attack it."
Asuna responded to Mikoto's grumbling.
"Even I'm not much help if Sekkarou doesn't work... More importantly, Kurumi-san. Aren't you a little too far back?"
"Don't be ridiculous. My special ability is all about support, so my attacks are just pea shooters. Unless it's on the level of Tina-san's, it's not much help. In my opinion, you two who can cut things down with a single weapon—"
"Alright, alright! Anyway, for now, we need to recover our stamina as much as possible for the final attack!"
Asuna clapped her hands to calm them down.
After watching quietly for a while,
『It's here! You're late, Riko!!』
『It wasn't me who did this, it was Kazari-chan.』
She heard a familiar voice from the headset in her ear.
"Okay, everyone, let's go."
"Right... oh."
"Whoa..."
"Well..."
From the communication, Asuna judged that Uiharu and Riko had succeeded and called everyone back to the front line. Immediately after, the Imaginary Beast was incinerated by the mega particle beam.
The ground itself turned red from the extraordinary power.
"Heh... looks like they stole our thunder."
"But if the incident ends like this, Saten-san will—"
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa―――――――!!!
The Imaginary Beast announced its survival with a scream that was no different from before, or rather, the loudest yet. That voice was enough to throw the jubilant Authority agents into despair.
"That wasn't enough...!?"
"It seems so. This is getting really tough—"
"That's a mass of AIM diffusion fields. Normal logic doesn't apply."
Kiyama, who was dragging her leg, had somehow gotten close to them.
"Hey, when did you—"
"No matter how much you shave off its surface, it doesn't affect its core."
"Hey! More importantly, your body—"
"There must be a core that makes the field mass self-sustaining. From my point of view, the network itself seems to be destroyed, so if you can just destroy the core—"
"Oh my, it seems you still don't listen to what people say, do you?"
The four of them received information from the very nonchalant Kiyama, even while being at her mercy.
After finishing her explanation, Kiyama quietly asked a simple question.
"...Can you really trust my words so easily? The words of the person who caused this incident."
It was a truly simple question. One that could be answered in a single word, with great ease.
—Of course.
The true final battle was about to begin.
--------------------------------------------
🚀 Want Early Access (80+Chapters ahead ) & Bonus Content?
"Loving this story so far? You can read ALL chapters RIGHT NOW by joining my P4tr3on!
✨ Unlock instant access to the full completed novel
✨ No waiting for daily updates
✨ Support your favorite degenerate author (that's me!)
Only $5.99 for the full experience!
🔗 Check my profile for the Link!!