Chapter 13: Everlasting

"You overdid it."

"Well, at least I tried to clean up your mess. Fine."

I was sitting across from Fine, who had already completed her usual check-up. Apparently, according to her, when I tanked the strain from the other Symphogears, the load was too much. It almost damaged my main relic. If not for the replica relic I used, the crack would have spread significantly.

"If you keep doing that, what you mentioned happening to Hibiki will happen to you as well. And she's already overusing it, so it's only a matter of time before what you said— Oh, the three of them are on a mission."

I suddenly had a bad feeling. If the three of them were going, that meant...

"Would you look at that? They're going to the place I really love: the former Kadingir."

Hearing that, I slowly stood up and grabbed Fine by the shoulder.

"Fine, give me an Aegis replica. NOW."

"Wow, someone's getting hot-headed, aren't they? Is it a bad future you foresee? Sure. I've already improved it using the data I received from you, but it's still not a complete product, so never use X-Drive, okay?"

"I won't promise that, as this one is tricky."

I grabbed the Aegis replica and ran out of the prison before heading to an empty alley.

"Custodire Welt Aegis Zizl."

After finishing the transformation sequence, I spawned my usual surfing shield and used it to fly straight toward the former Kadingir, where the trio would be facing Dr. Ver. I hoped I wasn't too late.

I arrived a bit too late. Hibiki was already in berserk mode, fighting the Nephilim. Just like in the anime, Chris had passed out, stuck in the web alongside Tsubasa.

This was exactly what I wanted to avoid, but fate had other plans. As I jumped toward them, Hibiki ripped the Nephilim's heart out. Dr. Ver began to run away, but I had to fight Hibiki.

"MEI."

"Looks like the situation is worse than I thought, Tsubasa."

Hibiki stared at me and bolted forward. Seriously, Hibiki is kind of scary in this mode. All I could see was black and red, like she was from a horror movie or something.

Well, I tried to take the berserk away by absorbing the excess power. It started to work as the black disappeared from Hibiki. However, I felt like I needed to release this power soon, or worse, I would enter berserk as well. So, I used it to heal Tsubasa and Chris while keeping Hibiki locked in place and continuing to absorb power from her.

Finally, I managed to calm her down. Hibiki returned to normal, and her transformation undid itself. I noticed Tsubasa and Chris were already unstuck from the Noise, probably because Dr. Ver was already running away. Still, this was a big problem for me now because I saw Shirabe and Kirika running toward me with panicked expressions.

"MEI, PLEASE HELP US!"

"PLEASE, MOM IS IN DANGER!"

Apparently, they still remembered when I said I could cure Nastassja's sickness. They came because her condition was getting worse, and they explained that, just as I suspected, Nastassja's sickness was worsening, and she had already passed out.

With Hibiki and the others already back at base for Hibiki's check-up, I found myself alone. Convincing Tsubasa to bring Chris and Hibiki back had been difficult enough, and now I was faced with Nastassja, still unconscious.

"I never imagined her condition had deteriorated this much. Her internal injuries make healing even more difficult. I'm surprised she's survived this long, maybe it's because of her attachment to you three."

I glanced at Maria, Shirabe, and Kirika in the room. Maria simply glared at me before stepping forward.

"You can heal her, right? That's what you told Shirabe and Kirika, or was that a lie?"

"I can definitely heal her, so there's no need to worry."

I could heal her easily in X-Drive form, but the problem was I couldn't access X-Drive due to a lack of Phonic Gain. It looked like I would have to brute force it.

"Give me a Linker. Her situation is worse than I thought."

Maria hesitated, but Shirabe, perhaps thinking she would bear the brunt of the blame, offered hers.

"Thank you."

"Custodire Welt Aegis Zizl."

After transforming, I shot myself with the Linker, providing enough power to access X-Drive, just as Kirika and Shirabe had done. Hibiki experienced it as too much for their body, but I should be fine since I'm a hybrid of human and relic, like Hibiki.

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

Perhaps because I was forcing it, the light of the X-Drive was dimmer than usual, and I could see hints of black within it, reminiscent of the Ignite Module. First, I needed to heal her.

I gently placed my hand on Nastassja's chest and began healing her body from the inside, taking the damage onto myself. My healing power essentially shields others by absorbing their injuries. In normal form, I can use it on minor injuries, but for damage like Nastassja's, I needed the X-Drive.

I must have overdone it, as I could feel that I had healed her right eye as well. The moment I finished, she opened her eyes and stared at me, but I had already reached my limit. My transformation dissipated, and the replica relic I held crumbled to dust.

"Well, at least it's done. Good morning, Doctor Nastassja. Let's discuss something important."

Having already completed my task, I acquired the Shénshòujìng relic crystal. It was worth the effort, but now I face the challenge of convincing Miku to use it, as I believe she is the ideal candidate. I wonder if this will alter the final season's storyline.

Convincing Nastassja to continue working with Dr. Ver was difficult, but I need his assistance to raise the ruin from the sea, the only way to avert the moon's collision with Earth. Although I managed to cure her fixation on the trio, I suspect she will still sacrifice herself as she did in the anime.

Unfortunately, I don't believe I can prevent it. During the team's entry into the Treasury of Babylonia in the final moment of season two, I intend to resurrect Maria's deceased younger sister, Serena.

Given that the Treasury is a parallel dimension of infinite size, the abundance of phonic gain there will revive the Airgetlám relic, which vanished with Serena when she died fighting the Niphilim.

Therefore, I can revive people within that space. However, I need to test this, making Dr. Ver's continued cooperation essential. This is why I confided in Nastassja about Dr. Ver's plan, without informing Maria or the others. Knowing the trio's fate will ensure Nastassja's cooperation.

While successful, this makes me the villain, as Nastassja will die as a side effect, but in exchange, Serena will live. I am aware of the hypocrisy, and I do not intend to seek forgiveness.

Currently, I am in a submarine, approaching Tsubasa and Genjuro. Genjuro is holding the results of Hibiki's X-ray scan.

"So, Hibiki is beginning to crystallize."

Upon hearing this, they both turned to me, surprised.

"What do you two forget? I'm from the future. I already know this is going to happen sooner or later, remembering how Hibiki is basically a justice-loving idiot."

"Yeah, Mei, but we need to think of something, as this could happen to you too."

"I know, Director Genjuro, but it's already too late for me, since I'm not really human anymore. Though, because my relic isn't a shard but a fully formed crystal, I was fine, though."

"But, Mei..."

"I know my body well, Tsubasa. Besides, if you scanned my body, it would look much worse than what you two are currently looking at, but I'm fine because my body is already in the process of fully combining with the relic, so don't worry about me."

Hearing my words, Tsubasa started to cry as she hugged me so tight, and Genjuro was clenching his arm to the point I could see blood dripping from it.

"You two are seriously kind; it almost makes me tear up, but I don't need that kind of stuff, since I need to discuss something else."

I showed the Shénshòujìng relic crystal in my hand, as well as the picture of Miku.

"Remember when I said Hibiki could be cured with the help of a certain relic? Well, this is the relic, which is the Shénshòujìng relic crystal, and it has the power to completely erase a relic and has no lasting effects. Though, the only user who uses this in the future is Miku, so now, Director Genjuro, what are you planning to do?"

I slowly handed the relic crystal toward Genjuro, who went silent as he looked at the relic in his hand and toward me.

"No need to worry; Miku can handle it well. In fact, she handled that artifact so well that she can access X-Drive form with ease."

"Fine, we will take your idea, Mei, but only after I see your X-ray scan."

"Well, sure, Director Genjuro, but I want you to gather everyone on the team and explain about it, including Miku, of course."

"You really drive a hard bargain, Mei, but alright."

I felt like I was speedrunning the second season, but it couldn't be helped. I messed up big the moment I entered the story on my own. Now everyone inside the room, including Miku, meant there were five people waiting for Genjuro. I could see Tsubasa was having a hard time calming down, and Chris was the same.

Then, Genjuro slowly entered the room as the projector turned on, displaying Hibiki's X-ray scan.

"Well, as some of you know, this is the result of Hibiki's X-ray scan. It shows that the relic is starting to crystallize her body."

The moment Genjuro said that, Miku let out a gasp. I could see Chris's face turn serious, but Tsubasa was still having a hard time calming down because I was next.

"For now, calm down, Miku. We've already seen a chance to cure Hibiki. Mei, while you already told me, I didn't realize it was this bad."

Then, he proceeded to show mine, which was completely different compared to Hibiki's. While Hibiki had a black circle on her chest before it spread to her entire body like a vein, mine started from the middle of my back. It was much thicker and had more lines compared to hers, basically eating up almost my entire body.

"As you can see, Mei is almost reaching the point of no longer being human."

The moment Genjuro said that, all the members turned toward me, but I wasn't surprised. Recently, when I turned back to male, it was like I had a timer before turning back to female, making it seem like the female was my original body, even though my original body was male.

"Because of that, Miku, please, can you save both of them?"

Genjuro bowed toward Miku, which surprised everyone except me and Tsubasa, since Tsubasa was there when I gave the relic to Genjuro. I slowly stood up and patted Miku on the shoulder before staring hard at Genjuro as i walk to him.

"What do you mean by this, Director Genjuro? I didn't ask to be saved, since Hibiki needs it more than I do. Besides, I don't have time to get cured now, as I need this for my plan, and I won't compromise on that."

Genjuro stood up and stared at me, making me think about how tall he was compared to me, but we kept staring at each other for what felt like a minute.

"Can you please tell me why?"

"I can't. I've already broken the timeline so many times because of this relic. I'm giving it to you, so be satisfied. If I wanted to keep things normal, I wouldn't have risked myself to get the relic and let Miku get brainwashed instead."

Hearing my words, Hibiki stood up from her seat and stared at me.

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

"Well, with this, I've basically made that event nonexistent. In the normal route, Genjuro asks Miku to help protect Hibiki, but that leads to Miku being captured by the enemies, who brainwash her into fighting Hibiki. Hibiki uses the relic's power to cure and release Miku from the brainwashing. Now that that's out of the way, I'll leave."

I slowly walked toward the exit but was blocked by Tsubasa, who wore a serious expression.

"Mei, please don't do this."

"So, you too, Tsubasa... Looks like it was my mistake to become closer to you."

Before I could attack Tsubasa to escape, I was held back by Hibiki and Chris, which surprised me. Then I remembered that Chris had already been trained by Fine before joining, and Hibiki is a genius who absorbs all of Genjuro's techniques.

"Well, you guys got me. To think you coordinated this much against me. Or was I being too kind? I wonder."

"We learned it from you, Mei."

"Yeah, like this idiot said. Though, looking at your actions right now, I can see that you're the same as this idiot over here."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean, Chris?"

"Just shut up, you idiot."

Miku started giggling. I could see Tsubasa was smiling, and so was Genjuro. Since I was being held by both Chris and Hibiki, I decided to give up on breaking free by force and let time decide what happens from now on.