"Signum, look at that!"
"What is that...?"
Just before reaching the Inter-Middle venue, Fate and the others saw a silhouette fly out of a hole in the venue's ceiling.
The red robot-like figure split into three high in the sky and scattered.
"That was..."
"I know. We don't know who it is, but saving lives is our top priority right now."
The two of them enter through the hole in the ceiling, as if exchanging places with the robot. Directly below them, they see the Inter-Middle ring where many fierce battles were fought this summer.
The ring is brutally destroyed, and a mountain of rubble has been formed. Many people who couldn't escape are still in the stands, all of them looking at the hole in the ceiling and the two who have descended from it.
For a report of a monster's appearance, two things are missing: the audience's panic and the monster's body.
"The monster isn't here? Why...?"
"Look, Testa Rossa. That must be the reason."
On the destroyed ring, there are faces that both Fate and Signum know.
They are the top players they saw in the tournament footage. It's not strange for that group of people to have repelled even a monster.
Among the top players, there is one small girl. She is cradling a girl who looks exhausted and waving to Fate and the others.
"Kuro-chan!"
"Is Kasukabe alright?"
"Yoha's fine. She's just unconscious."
At Kuro's words, Fate also checks. Indeed, there are no problems.
Meanwhile, Signum questions Kuro.
"Was this caused by a monster?"
"Rather than that, it feels like Yoha was turned into a monster... I don't know the cause, though."
"Hmm... So, can I assume you guys have defeated the monster that appeared?"
"Yes, for now—"
"Excuse me, may I have a moment?"
Victoria interrupts their conversation. She bows politely. Next to her is a stiff Els, two steps behind is Jeremiah, and even further back is Harry with his arms crossed.
All of them want to know what's happening right now.
"My name is Victoria Dahlgrün."
"I'm Signum, from the Special Forces Section Six of the Bureau. We came here after receiving a report of a monster's appearance. Did you all take care of the monster?"
"No, we cooperated, but it was someone else who ultimately defeated it."
"Someone else... Where is this person?"
Signum thinks she needs to hear more details about the monster, but Victoria shakes her head.
"I don't know. There were two of them, but both of them left. One in a silver aurora-like thing. The other—"
"The Kamen Rider person flew off somewhere through the hole in the ceiling."
Jeremiah, who speaks with the same intonation as her master, takes the lead.
"Kamen Rider person?"
"Yes. Both of them were wearing masks, and the one who flew through the hole in the ceiling had 'Rider' written on his mask."
Signum is deep in thought at Victoria's supplemental explanation, but...
"Rider on his face..."
Something in Fate's memory clicks. Wasn't that what Sho looked like when he came to help her when she was in a pinch at Tieria's laboratory?
"Could it be Sho?"
Fate asks Kuro in a low voice. Kuro nods back quietly.
Fate immediately taps Signum on the shoulder.
"What is it, Testa Rossa?"
"It's fine about that Kamen Rider. That person is Sho."
"Sho... Yozuki Sho. The one who's being assigned to Section Six."
Signum has barely spoken to him, but she's heard various things. Something about him having an extraordinary secret.
However, she also knows that he has earned the trust of the people around him. She knows about Fate's story from Hayate, even though she's not interested.
"(In other words, the person who disappeared into the aurora is also an acquaintance of Yozuki Sho. In that case, I'll leave this matter for now...)"
Signum makes that decision.
"I think we'll be asking for a detailed account from you who fought the monster directly later. So, we'll save the questions for then."
She and Fate head toward the tournament director's location.
---------
"Haa!"
"Yaa!"
On a building's rooftop, Jugglus and Asuna are engaged in a fierce sword fight.
The swordplay is evenly matched. Asuna's rapier, wrapped in magic power, and Jugglus's katana, wrapped in dark energy, scatter sparks and magic.
"(This person is strong...!)"
"(Seriously, I can't even take down this one little girl... Haa!)"
Asuna bravely attacks, her Butei High skirt fluttering. She kicks off the ground with her long, slender leg, and her right arm, pulled back against her chest, is released.
The rapier, now a flash of light, passes just barely by Jugglus's body.
Jugglus feels like making a sarcastic remark, but he's afraid of biting his tongue if he says anything extra.
At first, he planned to just use the blunt side of his blade, but he's no longer so lenient.
"Haa!"
Jugglus sends a dark slash, like a grim reaper's scythe.
Asuna calmly deflects it with the side of her rapier, and uses the recoil to spin. She launches a thrust with the momentum.
"Yaa!"
"Tch!?"
Jugglus barely manages to evade by jumping backward.
Asuna doesn't push her attack. She straightens her body and takes her stance again. Jugglus does the same.
"(I'm evenly matched right now. I have to stay on guard because I don't know what's coming next...)"
"(She's serious... I don't want to get on Yozuki Sho's bad side by carelessly injuring her.)"
This is going to be a long fight. Feeling that, Jugglus begins to plan his escape. If he continues to fight and unnecessary reinforcements arrive, he won't be able to hold back.
If he keeps delaying, the monsters will likely all be defeated, and he'll be unable to escape.
"(My apologies, little girl. Consider it your bad luck that you found me.)"
"(Something's coming...!)"
Just as Jugglus wavers and takes a step forward...
"...!?"
A sudden impact from the side sends Jugglus's body flying. He smashes through a wall of the next building and falls, carried by a gust of wind at dozens of meters per second.
"That hurts... Who the hell was that..."
The person lands right next to Asuna.
She's wearing light armor and holding a saber with the indestructive attribute of Durandal. Her glowing blonde hair sways in the wind she herself has created.
Ais, who was told by Finn to look for the monster summoner, found the two fighting and rushed to the rescue.
Of course, Ais doesn't know who the bad guy is, but she senses evil and has chosen the correct target.
"You are..."
"Are you okay?"
Ais glances back for a moment but immediately looks forward again.
"!"
She deflects a dark-colored slash.
The one who launched the attack is, of course, Jugglus.
"Tch, I can't believe the reinforcements that came were Ais Wallenstein of the Loki Familia... Can I get away?"
She's one of the most skilled swordsmen on Academy Island, the "Sword Princess." She's not only a master of the sword but also a powerful user of wind magic. She has not only offensive power but also speed. And there's another swordsman on this battlefield who's a match for Jugglus.
"If I fight two against one, I have no chance of winning... But,"
The Dark Ring in Jugglus's hand emits a sinister light.
"It might be a different story if I call for an ally."
He pulls out a single card.
"Pandon!"
(PANDON)
When he feeds the card into the ring, the card becomes particles and forms something completely different. It transforms into a two-headed monster.
It's "Pandon," the last enemy from the TV series "Ultraman Seven."
—GYAAAAAAA!!!
The four eyes of the two-headed beast stare at the two of them and let out a scream.
"Just as I thought..."
"It's confirmed that he's the summoner."
Asuna understands that her hunch wasn't wrong, and Ais, having found her target, grips her saber tighter.
Jugglus is no longer visible, hidden by Pandon.
"(I want to capture the summoner, but...)"
She can't ignore Pandon, which is trying to stop her.
"You stay back. I'll take on that monster."
"It's fine. I'll fight with you."
"Oh? Okay."
The two female swordsmen stand side by side, holding their swords.
---------
"Honestly, first clone experiments, and now monsters? This world really isn't boring, is it...!"
Kurumi curses but desperately moves her body.
This summer, Kurumi was working at a store in the same line of work as a maid café, thanks to Jeanne's connection. It's a district full of miscellaneous buildings, a popular place for enthusiasts because of its rare junk goods.
What appeared there was the robot monster "Galactron." It was advancing while firing beams from the weapons on its eyes and chest.
Kurumi, who is not a Spirit with a lot of firepower to begin with, finds her fighting style of toying with her opponents with her special abilities to be ineffective against Galactron.
So, Kurumi is putting all her effort into saving lives.
"K-Kurumin...!"
"Please stop calling me that!"
Kurumi sprints, carrying a coworker who is completely terrified by the situation.
To avoid the falling rubble, she presses her pistol to her temple and pulls the trigger.
"First Bullet: Aleph!"
She uses one of the abilities of Zafkiel, the Emperor of Time, to accelerate. Her coworker, who she's holding, screams at the sudden blurred vision, but there's no time to worry about it.
"(The clones I sent to stall seem to have been mostly destroyed. It might be better to just evacuate everyone into my shadow...)"
"You seem to be struggling, Kurumi."
Cutting off Kurumi's thoughts, a figure descends from the sky with a pitch-black slash.
"Alter-san!? Why are you here...?"
The overwhelming power of the black holy sword is the strongest weapon that can break through this situation.
"Sho is already in action. I will take on his opponent."
"You can't say that. We—"
Multiple clones emerge from Kurumi's shadow. One of them takes the coworker from Kurumi (the original) and leaves.
"You will pay for ravaging this place!"
"Do what you want."
With Galactron, which has completely stood up, in front of them, the two of them ready their weapons.
---------
And the monster's evil reach was closing in on the building where the get-together party was being held.
The building, which was still being attacked by Anubis made of sand, couldn't spare any resources to deal with the monster.
It's an ancient monster, Gomora, characterized by its giant crescent-shaped twin horns, a single horn on its nose, pinecone-like scales on the front of its torso, and a thick, long tail.
Some Bureau members go outside to stall it. They fire magic bullets from the rooftop of a different building, but they can't even scratch its tough body.
On the contrary, Gomora, annoyed by the attacks, attacks back—with a rotation of its body and a swing of its tail—and floors of the building are punched through with a roar, like a game of Daruma Otoshi.
With one entire floor gone, the building collapses, and the Bureau members on top of it fall helplessly.
Seeing this, the dignitaries from various countries look for an opportunity to escape from the building, thinking they can't leave it to the Bureau members.
This is the same for the Aldegia and Landsol Kingdoms.
They are in the position of escorting their country's princesses. Even if it means abandoning the surrounding countries, they need to avoid the worst-case scenario.
However,
"Princess La Folia, what will you do?"
"We cannot be the only ones to escape. I will stay here and fight to the end."
"That's right! Everyone here is a companion who shared a table with us! I can't be the only one to run away!"
"Princess Eustiana...!"
There's nothing they can do if La Folia and Eustiana don't move.
"Cocoro-chan, can you still go on!"
"Yes! Until Master returns!"
Yuki, who is panting, and Cocoro, who is still providing spirit protection, both shout to continue the fight.
The familiars moving the sand with magic were no match for Yuki's Yukikazari. Since the weapons they form are also hardened sand, they can't even clash with Yukikazari, which nullifies magic power.
It's no exaggeration to say that they are able to maintain the front line thanks to Yuki's fierce fighting, as she has dealt with over 100 Anubis.
Cocoro is fully dedicated to supporting Yuki's movements by giving her a wind blessing.
"You two... Thank you."
Of course, the Holy Princess also has no option of abandoning everyone.
"Good grief, why are young ladies so stubborn?"
Lainess says so, but watches the situation unfold.
In Lainess's case, she's not thinking of anything noble like not being able to tolerate someone's sacrifice.
She just wants to enjoy the stimulating events that happened at the end of her life on the island, which she spent the entire summer on.
When the young ladies say that much, the knight escorts have no choice but to get serious. Fortunately, the monster is distracted by the magic bullets raining down from the sky and can't move.
The sight of the giant monster rampaging outside the window is very unnerving, but if this stalemate continues and elite units from various countries arrive, the situation might change.
Yes. If this stalemate continues until then.
La Folia smiles with her beauty that could be mistaken for a goddess and looks at everyone.
"It's alright. If it comes to it, I'll take care of it."
"Princess La Folia! That is...!"
She is saying that as a duty of the royal family, she will take responsibility in the end.
There's no way they can put La Folia on the front line. The knights protest, but...
"—However, it seems we don't have to worry about that."
What La Folia is looking at is a red robot with a fluttering cloak that has flown in from above.
La Folia doesn't know anything about its equipment, but she instinctively understands who it is.
"Oh! Could that be!"
"Yeah. The only one with such a strange-looking robot doll is him."
Eustiana's eyes sparkle like a child watching a hero show, and Lainess shrugs at the timing that's too good to be true.
And the three people who know the answer all shout at the same time.
"Senpai!"
"Master!"
"Sho-san!"
Like Superman, there stood Yozuki Sho, clad in Getter 1.
--------------------------------------------
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