With Kinichi and Sho's battle behind them, Woz stood alone against a countless number of Sphinxes. Kinichi wanted to gauge Sho's power, but Patra couldn't care less. A large army of Sphinxes, endlessly being spawned, converged on Sho and Woz on the beach.
"Well then, this is where my Demon King's stage begins. Shall we have you pests take your leave?" Woz said, smiling fearlessly as he casually swatted away a nearby Anubis.
---------
The GN Blade flew from my right hand. It spun through the air and landed, sticking into the sand. Kinichi stopped mid-swing of his Scorpio on purpose. Even though my posture was off, he didn't follow up with an attack.
"Tch!" I lunged with the GN Blade remaining on my left arm, but...
Clang!
The spinning Scorpio's hilt hit the GN Blade's edge, sending it flying out of my hand and far away.
"Is this all you've got, Sho Yozuki?!"
"Not yet!"
I drew the GN Beam Sabers equipped on my back. The beam blades generated from the hilts slid against the surface of the Scorpio, creating sparks.
"That man, Woz, said you could even defeat the Professor... but it seems he was mistaken," he said, his eyes telling me he was disappointed. "If you can't even defeat me, defeating the Professor is nothing more than a pipe dream."
"I'd say... you're right!"
As I finished my words, I threw a GN Dagger. But as if he had read my mind, a gunshot rang out. It was Kinichi's Invisible Bullet. The saber's hilt was destroyed by the bullet, creating a small explosion. I charged through the explosion.
"Too predictable."
Kinichi easily dodged me. It was as if he was reading all my movements. He seemed to have deemed it too dangerous to block the beam saber, so he just dodged every attack. The pink light blades left only a trail of light as they cut through the air.
"Your aim is too obvious. You're aiming for my right hand."
He was right. If I could just remove his Class Card, his power would be significantly reduced. And that was probably Kinichi's test for me. "Fine. If you want me to prove myself, I'll do it. Even if I have to use my trump card."
"---Trans-Am."
"!"
My suit turned red. The GN Drives in my chest increased their rotation, spreading high-density GN Particles at maximum capacity. Trans-Am is a system only found in original Solar Reactors. It's a temporary power-up that releases all the high-density compressed particles stored inside the suit, making it glow red and increasing its output threefold for a limited time. Since it uses all the particles stored inside, if I missed this chance, my victory would be gone.
I drew a new saber and used both to slice the Scorpio to pieces.
"Sudden power-up... I see...!"
With his melee weapon destroyed, Kinichi put his hand on his waist holster and stepped back.
"You're not pursuing me. With that speed and power, you could have finished me off right there."
"You don't seem like you're trying to kill me either."
"Hmph. For you to say something like that in this situation..." Kinichi smiled, but his eyes quickly turned sharp. "Then, let's make this the final attack. Try to break my Noble Phantasm."
I smirked. "Yeah, let's do it."
I held my two sabers. Kinichi didn't move. He seemed to be letting me go first.
"Here I come!"
I charged at Kinichi, leaving a red afterimage.
"That's impressive speed, but my quick draw is faster. The Thunderer...!"
A bullet that can pierce through an IS's defenses. It would do some serious damage to a Gundam if it hit. But right before it was about to make contact...
"Act 3!"
"!"
My body was sucked into a spiral that Act 3 created on the ground.
"Your favorite move, is it...!" Kinichi's words showed he knew about my Stand. Even though I'd used this move many times, you couldn't react to it if it was used out of the blue. Kinichi groaned, but it was too late. My right hand, which had shot out of the spiraling hole, wasn't holding anything. It was just a clenched fist. All I needed to do to eject a Class Card was touch him, but...
"This is for Tatene too. No complaints, right?"
"No, of course not."
A dull thud echoed across the beach. My right hand, with its red afterimage, had landed squarely on Kinichi's face.
"Ugh..."
"Whew..."
Kinichi was sent flying about five meters away. I exhaled and deactivated my Exia armor.
"Seriously, an unknown ability is a terrifying thing..."
"That's usually the case."
A single card fluttered down, landing right between us. Neither Kinichi nor I tried to pick it up. Our battle was over. And the battle in the sky should be ending soon as well.
Thinking that, I looked up at the sky.
---------
The glider soared into the air, riding the wind, and slowly approached the pyramid and Patra's Meseket. But it was clear that if we continued like this, we'd be shot down before we could get there. From here, we had to proceed with the next phase of our plan. It was happening a bit earlier than planned because Sho was held up, but we couldn't complain.
"Miss Kokkoro, please!"
"Yes, Yukina-sama! Wind spirit...!"
A verdant spirit flew around Yukina, bestowing her with a blessing. Her body became lighter, giving her some freedom of movement in the air.
"Alright, miss. Leave the rear to us and go."
"...Okay."
Guarding Yukina's back were an unknown monster and Decade. Since Yukina didn't know who Decade was, they were both mysterious figures to her. But since Sho had trusted them enough to make a plan, she had to believe in them.
"Here I go!"
Using the leaves the wind spirits had created as a trampoline, Yukina was launched in a straight line toward Patra.
"Ohoho! How foolish! To charge at me head-on!"
Blocking Yukina's path were several Sphinxes. No matter how much support Kokkoro gave her, she wouldn't last long against this many Sphinxes. Two Sphinxes immediately attacked Yukina. Their sharp claws and strong jaws were aimed at her. Even if they missed, being slammed into the ground by their forelegs would be the end of her.
To prevent that, these two men were here.
"Both of you, please!"
At Kokkoro's call, Decade moved. Jugglus, with his arms crossed, simply watched.
"Shall we see what you can do?"
"Do whatever you want. I guess... since they're using Sphinxes, I'll bring some of our own. I'm pretty sure dragons are considered mythical beasts in this world, right?"
"...Oh?"
Jugglus raised an eyebrow, intrigued by Decade's words. Ignoring Jugglus, Decade loaded two cards.
<
<
From a mirror in the sky came Dragreder, and from a magic circle came Wizardragon. Dragreder was Ryuki's partner, and Wizardragon was Wizard's. They were the monsters that gave the two Riders their power. The dragon and the wyvern attacked the Sphinxes that were about to assault Yukina. Dragreder wrapped around a Sphinx's torso and squeezed. Wizardragon charged it head-on. But the Sphinxes weren't weak either. They broke free from the binds and clashed fiercely. The Sphinxes' light beams and Dragreder's fireballs burned the forest below.
While tense from the sudden kaiju battle next to her, Yukina continued forward. Jugglus took out a card, ready for Patra's next attack.
"Guess I'll bring out mine too... Z-ton!"
<
The prow of the Meseket glowed. The light, brighter than the rising sun, became a powerful heat beam and was fired at Yukina. But Jugglus's summoned Zetton cut in front of it. Zetton became Yukina's shield, and the heat beam hit it.
"What?!" Patra's face contorted in shock.
The heat beam was overwhelmingly powerful, but it couldn't penetrate Zetton's omnidirectional barrier so easily. In fact, Zetton was already preparing a counterattack.
"Damn it! Abhol Sphinx!"
Patra hurriedly called the Sphinxes back to attack Zetton. Zetton began to fight the Sphinxes, but that meant he couldn't attack Patra—and Yukina used that opening to get past Zetton.
"I, the High God's Priestess and Lion's Miko, beseech you..."
Yukina held Sekkarou with both hands in front of her chest. She closed her eyes and chanted a prayer.
"Oh, purifying dawn, divine wolf of snowy mist, with the steel of divine authority, grant me the power to slay the hundred evil gods and demons!"
It was impossible to defeat Patra directly with Ozymandias's power. The important thing was to nullify her Class Card Install. That would prevent her from using Ozymandias's Noble Phantasm and cut off her infinite magical energy. It would have been easy if Sho's Imagine Breaker was an option, but he had already shown it to Kana, of all people. If he got too close to Patra, she would be wary and try to eliminate him first.
But Sho had another ally with absolute power against magic: a girl with a spear that could cut through any magical barrier and even defeat a Progenitor Vampire. The magic she had gathered maximized Sekkarou's function. A magic circle appeared at the tip of the spear.
"Tch... you...!"
Patra panicked and used her magic on Yukina, who was closing in. She created a thick shield made of sand, just like she did with the Anubis. But to Yukina's Sekkarou, it was a weaker obstacle than a sandcastle being swept away by a wave.
"Haaah!"
With a single flash of her spear, the sand shield disappeared as if it were dissolving.
"Hick...!"
Patra let out a pathetic cry for the first time. There was no time for magic now, and Yukina was faster than the Sphinxes who were trying to help. The only way to escape would be to make the Meseket flee at supersonic speed, but Patra's pride wouldn't allow it.
The blade of Sekkarou brushed against Patra's skin. At that moment, a card was ejected from Patra's body, and the pyramid and Sphinxes disappeared.
The battle had been decided.
---------
I reunited with Yukina and the others after my fight with Kinichi. With the help of Decade, Jugglus, and Woz, things were wrapped up pretty quickly. The only thing left was Aria, who had been kidnapped.
"Over there," Kinichi said, pointing to the spot where the pyramid had just been.
There was a large coffin. It was surreal to see a lone coffin in the middle of the forest. When we opened the heavy lid, Aria was lying inside, wearing a bikini-like outfit just like Patra.
"She shouldn't be hurt. At least, we didn't do anything to her," Kinichi said. True to his words, Aria was just sleeping, without a single scratch.
"You can trust him. After all, even though it's 'former,' he's a Special Forces Butei from the Butei Agency."
"What?!"
"Why would someone like that be in Iu?"
"It's a long story. But it was necessary to destroy Iu."
Yukina and Kokkoro were surprised by the unexpected title Jugglus revealed. It was a natural reaction if you didn't know anything. It's truly amazing that someone with that kind of background could still be a part of the organization.
"It's like the Black Organization."
"The Black Organization?"
"Never mind."
Like 'Zero' from the Public Security Bureau infiltrating them. Or the FBI and CIA doing undercover investigations. Unlike them, he's probably being let go on purpose. No, I'm not saying Gin is incompetent!
Anyway, back to the point.
"How do we wake her up?"
"The coffin itself has a curse on it. A sleeping curse. The curse should be lifted once the lid is opened... Right, Patra?"
"..." Patra looked away when he called her name, but I'll try calling her too.
"Aria, Aria!"
"...Mmm?"
She immediately responded.
"Sho? Huh, Yukina and Kokkoro are here too...? What was I doing...?"
Aria rubbed her sleepy eyes and sat up.
"Aria, for now..."
"Huh?"
"Would you like to put something on? No, it's that kind of outfit, so if you don't mind, that's fine too. But with Senpai watching..." Yukina glanced at me.
"Clothes? What are you talking about—"
Aria looked down at her body. She immediately noticed her outfit. It was like she was wearing a thin cloth, and it only covered her chest and lower body.
"B-but! Hey! Don't look!"
Aria instantly turned red and covered her body with her hands. She even used the edge of the coffin to shield herself. Obeying Aria's command, I turned around.
"Is that outfit that embarrassing?"
"It's a traditional outfit. It's embarrassing if you're not used to it."
Kokkoro tilted her head, confused. I don't know what her common sense is like, but maybe for an elf, this outfit is completely normal.
"Hey! Where are my clothes?!"
"They're over there. Your weapons are with them too."
"I'll go get them."
I was about to go in the direction Kinichi pointed, but...
"No, a woman should go. 'All' the clothes you were wearing to get here are there."
All? Oh, right. He means her underwear too. I guess it would be weird if she wore her normal underwear with that outfit.
"Senpai... Aria-san, let's go change over there," Yukina said.
"Yeah, okay."
Yukina and Aria went into the forest together and came back quickly. Aria was now in her familiar Butei High uniform. When she came back to us, she said shyly, "Sho... thanks for helping a clumsy girl like me."
"Of course. We're teammates."
"Yes. Senpai is right."
"There's no need to worry about it, Aria-sama."
"Everyone... ahem! These two are Iu members too! This will shorten my mom's sentence again!" she said with a forced cough.
Seeing her, we smiled to ourselves.
"Alright, then..."
Now that we've successfully rescued Aria, it's time to get off this island.
"Please behave yourself."
"Ugh...!"
Her Class Card had been retrieved. Without the pyramid-shaped building, Patra was just a normal mage now. But she was still powerful enough. However, she couldn't do anything with Yukina's Spirit Vision glaring at her. Yukina would take her out before she could even cast a spell.
"Kinichi, do something!"
"Sorry. Even I can't escape when we're surrounded like this."
He's lying. He could easily escape. But he probably has no intention of escaping. He obediently followed our instructions. By the way, we were holding both Kinichi's Class Card and his weapon. Patra stomped her foot at Kinichi's response, but there was nothing she could do.
As we walked, we saw the beach. A boat was there, which had come to pick us up on autopilot. We got on and left the island. The boat raised a spray of water and sped away from the island.
And so, we successfully rescued Aria from the island.
--------------------------------------------
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