Chapter 10: The result which is different

For the next month, we continued with our normal routines. However, I noticed my popularity was rapidly increasing, especially since Tsubasa didn't bother to hide how close we were. I even started getting jobs with her, though sometimes we worked solo.

Some of the idols I met were very kind, even congratulating me on "melting the icy princess," which I couldn't really deny. Tsubasa really fit that description until the end of the second season when she started to warm up a bit.

I watched Shinji take off his glasses after finishing a call, and I knew it was important.

"They found Mamoru?"

"Yeah, and he's currently engaging with the others."

"Then should I go?"

"No, stand by for now."

"Since you're taking off your glasses, does that mean you're going?"

"We need to secure the surrounding area and make sure civilians don't get caught in the crossfire."

"Fine."

I wondered how long my other self needed to prepare, but it had to be soon. If he was planning to follow the timeline, he needed to move fast. It was only a matter of time before Maria made her move, and by then, it would be too late.

I proceeded with my job, which today was a reality show about idols and cooking. They asked about my cooking, and I said it was average. Then they surprisingly asked about Tsubasa, and the questions took a strange turn, focusing on her.

I denied anything weird, though I mostly answered truthfully, like how Tsubasa and I sometimes slept together, which I thought was normal. Apparently, it wasn't, because the audience got really excited and kept digging into my relationship with Tsubasa. I ended up exhausted when the show ended.

Suddenly, I got a bad feeling. I looked at the sky and heard a lot of noise; it sounded like Tsubasa and the others were already overwhelmed. I went to the rooftop and started to transform.

"Custodire Welt Aegis Zizl."

The transformation sequence began as I felt the bodysuit slowly wrap around my body, transforming into my Symphogear suit. Then I started to sing while I spawned my surfing shield.

Chasing the source of the flying Noise, I threw a barrage of shuriken, eliminating many of them, then blocked a laser attack. I redirected the laser back at another Noise that kept coming.

Despite my efforts to thin their numbers, I wondered if the others were struggling. I was tempted to help, but I decided they should be fine. Suddenly, I noticed the phonic gain rising rapidly, indicating the trio was using X-Drive. With this many Noise, I needed to thin their ranks aggressively.

"Gatrandis babel ziggurat edenal, Emustolronzen Finé el balal zizzl, Gatrandis babel ziggurat edenal, Emustolronzen Finé el zizzl."

As the song ended, I felt a surge of power. My suit transformed, and a pair of shields formed behind me, linked by chains. I noticed slight changes in my hands and feet, though barely perceptible.

Furthermore, I could now fly without my surfing shield. The shields on my back provided lift, and I could spawn an endless number of shields, so I no longer needed to conserve energy.

Now in X-Drive, I began the massacre of the Noise, while simultaneously protecting the town from their aerial bombardment with my shields. The Noise numbers gradually dwindled, so I headed toward their origin.

My other self was putting up a good fight, but with the three of them already in X-Drive and still unable to defeat him, I wondered what was holding them back.

Curious, I flew closer and saw they were unharmed, which only deepened my curiosity about their hesitation.

"Geez, what are you three doing?"

"Mei." x3

They turned to me, their faces showing panic, which only fueled my suspicion. It was especially strange to see Chris so flustered.

"I was holding back the Noise that kept appearing, thinking you guys were slacking off. Seriously, why haven't you defeated him? You're in X-Drive form, so what's the holdup?"

"Well, you see..."

"But Mei, he's still you."

"Indeed, what Hibiki said is right."

I think it was more important than that, but hesitating won't solve anything. If you guys aren't going to finish it, then I will do it instead.

I was about to face Mamoru when the three of them held me back, which confused me even more. Seeing that we weren't making progress, my male self could only sigh.

"Apparently, Fine told them that if they defeat me, there's a chance we're going to disappear."

"Okay, what? That's the first time I'm hearing that."

"Yeah, I was surprised as well. Because of that, they aren't going all out against me, which is a letdown. But well, since you're here, let's just end this farce."

"Sure, if I were you, I'd be tired of all this anyway."

After he finished speaking, Mamoru slowly gathered a large amount of power at the tip of Durandal, facing us. Knowing my shield, he was probably just planning for me to absorb it before firing it back at twice the power. So, to end this once and for all—though doing so would cause a lot of destruction—I decided to act.

When Mamoru fired his shot, I absorbed it with my shield and converted it into a giant shield shuriken. I threw it at him, aiming for it to hit the ground after hitting him.

While the trio tried to block it, they were a tad too late, as my shield hit Mamoru right in the head, completely obliterating him. He let go of Durandal, which was stabbed into the ground near him. As I saw the transformation undone, I heard a crack somewhere and looked around.

"Hey, did you guys hear a cracking sound?"

"Cracking sound? I'm not hearing anything. How about you, Hibiki?"

"No, I don't hear anything either. What do you think, Tsubasa?"

Tsubasa hugged me tightly and slowly gazed at my chest, or more like the place where the red crystal of my relic was supposed to be, which prompted the other two to look at it.

"Mei, there's a crack in your crystal."

"Well, I was expecting this type of situation, but for it to happen now…"

"Why are you so calm about this?"

"Well, Chris, it's not like it's the end of the world, after all, so I'm not too worried."

After saying that, Tsubasa slapped me in the face, which silenced me for a moment. It wasn't supposed to hurt, but somehow it did.

"Please don't make me worried."

"Well, for now, let's go back. Fine might know something about this."

"Yeah, while that woman is like that, she knows more about this than us, after all."

"Let's go. As for you, Mei, you will get a full check-up."

"Okay, Tsubasa."

I was still in shock from the slap when Tsubasa proceeded to carry me in her arms. Lost in thought, I didn't notice that we had already arrived at headquarters.

"As I said, I can't properly examine her like this, but those cracks look bad. I can temporarily fix them with another relic, but the performance will suffer. For the time being, you shouldn't use anything besides your normal form, which means no X-Drive for you."

"So, to fix it completely, I have to go there, right?"

"Fufufu, yes. You should be allowed to visit since I've already set up a lab there."

I slowly turned to Genjuro, who nodded in agreement. Suddenly, Tsubasa hugged me, glaring at Fine.

"If you dare do anything to Mei—"

"Oh, you really love her that much? It brings tears to my eyes! But don't worry, Tsubasa, Genjuro will be with her, so you have nothing to worry about, right, Genjuro?"

"Indeed, Tsubasa. I understand your feelings, but this is urgent."

"Fine, but I'm coming as well, and I won't take no for an answer."

Hearing Tsubasa's stubborn response, Genjuro slowly facepalmed and sighed before nodding. Tsubasa then walked toward me and hugged me again.

She's taller than me, but only by four centimeters. I wish she would stop hugging me out of nowhere, but for now, I'll let her be.

I was now sitting facing Fine. She had already finished checking my body, so I was back in my normal girl form. I was still surprised she managed to build this amazing lab, but I suppose that's normal for her, being one of the most famous researchers.

"Well, your body has stabilized thanks to the relic, but at the same time, the relic's effects are starting to affect your body even more since you just used the X-Drive."

"I see. I was expecting that kind of result since I'm similar to Hibiki because of the relic inside our bodies. Is there a chance my body will start to crystallize?"

"Wait, what do you mean by crystallized, Mei?"

"In the future, Hibiki overused her Symphogear, which overloaded her body, and she almost crystallized. However, with the help of a certain Symphogear, the relic's effect, and the relic itself, disappeared from Hibiki's body, which is why she can transform with ease later on."

"Interesting. If it was a relic that made the crystallized relic disappear, I can think of a couple of relics, but I see. Though, if we go that route, it would mean Mei can't transform anymore since the relic will be gone, correct?"

"Yes. While Hibiki managed to get a Gungnir relic later on, there is no Aegis relic in this world, which means the moment the relic disappears from my body, I will cease to be a Symphogear. While I can transform using another relic, like my male self, using a full relic on a person isn't natural."

"Well, yes, but there are rarely people who can use a full relic after all, like myself and Chris, for example. Besides, if you can give me time to analyze your relic, I think I can make a duplicate with some other relic. While the performance may change a little, it should be possible."

"Then I will leave it to you, Fine."

"Fufufu, for you to become this tame, I kind of want to tease you now."

Fine started to lick her lips, which made Tsubasa, who was watching, stand up between me and Fine, but Genjuro only let out a sigh as he patted Fine on the shoulder.

"Can you please keep it at that, Fine?"

"Fufufufu, sure, Genjuro, but still, does that matter? Is it already done?"

"If you mean the one where we fake your death, it's already done."

"Good. Then, Mei, for now, make sure to come here every day so I can analyze your relic and check on your body."

She slowly licked her lips again, which now sent shivers down my spine, but Tsubasa only glared at Fine while hugging me. Though, Fine only let out a giggle as Genjuro let out a tired sigh.

Well, at least for now, the problem is done. Though, thinking about the next one, which is Maria, is making me let out a tired sigh.

Though, should I tell Tsubasa or not? I feel like this is going to be troublesome either way.