Chapter 2: Solo or Team

After a while, I started to get used to this transformation. In fact, I even began singing while fighting, so let's just say that life was going smoothly.

"You stop there."

Smoothly, huh? I tried to ignore the blue-haired girl calling me, not wanting to deal with her, but she decided she'd had enough. With a swift motion, she sent a flying slash that smashed into my surfing shield, surprising me with how weak it turned out to be.

Maybe it was because I focused solely on the shield's ability to fly, neglecting its defensive capabilities. For now, I decided to escape using camouflage.

"Like I said, STOP THERE."

(Seriously, how did she manage to find me?)

Then it dawned on me that this was still early in the anime, meaning the system's creator was likely still on her team, which wasn’t too surprising.

"What do you need, Tsubasa? Or should I say the owner of Ame no Habakiri?"

Perhaps I was too direct, as her expression turned serious, and she pointed her sword at me. Just as she was about to attack, Hibiki intervened, covering for me, which caught me off guard.

"Tsubasa, stop! We're not enemies; we're fighting the same foes."

"Move out of the way, Tachibana. I'm not in a good mood right now."

I wondered if things would turn out like in the anime, and just as I expected, Tsubasa prepared to strike. But Genjuro intervened. While they were about to clash, I readied myself to run, only to be grabbed by the shoulder by Genjuro.

I knew escaping him wouldn't be easy. He was one of those exceptional humans who, despite being just a normal person without any magic, could defeat a Noise on his own. Now that I thought about it, the other guy could use ninjutsu as well.

This world was anything but normal, but considering the Noise, I guess it made sense...

"Tsubasa, for now, let's just pause. And you, little girl—who are you, and from what organization do you come?"

Straight-up interrogation—though not surprising, his tone was colder than I expected. When Tsubasa left, I noticed the cold aura dissipating as he sighed.

"Sorry for scaring you, little girl, but we need all the information we can get."

I stared at him, relieved that I always kept my visor and cloak on during fights. I glanced at Hibiki, who looked uncomfortable. How should I explain this? Since I didn't know whether this was a game or an anime, I decided to use the relic as my excuse.

"I'm from the future and a parallel world, I suppose, and my name is Mei. My relic is Aegis. I didn't plan to meet you now, and I certainly never expected to be thrown into the past. But as expected from you, Director, your power remains unchanged, even in a different world."

"The future? A parallel world? Can you explain this in detail?"

"I can't reveal the future, as that would disrupt it, but I can explain the concept of a parallel world. In simple terms, it's a 'what if' world where Gungnir never existed."

"Never existed?"

"Exactly. Instead of Gungnir, Aegis is what exists, and that's the Symphogear I'm using. The former user of this Symphogear was you, Hibiki-senpai."

While I’m not wrong about the parallel world, the rest of it is complete nonsense that I made up. Yet, they apparently believe me, as Hibiki lets out a surprised scream while Genjuro contemplates something.

"The reason we are here is that Gjallarhorn, the relic of this world, will become active next year, if I remember correctly. Also, Hibiki in my world is dead, which is why I have this Symphogear in the first place."

"Wait, I’m dead?"

"Yes. As for why I have this relic, let’s just say it’s for the same reason you have yours, Hibiki-senpai: you protected me from the ongoing Noise, and one of the shards of the relic hit me in the back, enabling my transformation."

Upon hearing my explanation, both of them fall silent. Genjuro grabs my shoulders with a look of pity, which isn’t surprising from him, but they seem to truly believe everything I've said.

"Then can you come to our base, Mei?"

"Well, that was direct, wasn’t it, Director? Besides, I already said I ref—"

"No, this is an important matter, so we need you to explain everything in detail."

It looks like I can't escape now; if I tried, I would probably break his arm. I actually like Genjuro for how he raised Hibiki like his own daughter, so I can’t hate him.

We head to Lydian Private Music Academy and enter a secret passage. It's not surprising to me, as this school was built to identify potential Symphogear users, but even though it can’t compare to when they became S.O.N.G, it’s still impressive.

I need to figure out how to handle this situation now that Sakura is here. Should I refer to her as Fine, the main villain from season one? That complicates things, but maybe I should use the "hero of justice" approach, or what I call the "muscle-brain" method.

As we arrive, I see all the current members of the Special Disaster Response Team, Sector Two. I wasn’t expecting Sakurai to be here, as I thought she was already Fine at her mansion, talking to Chris. However, this situation works out for me.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE, FINE?"

Of course, like those hot-headed muscle-brain types, I dash toward Sakurai but am held back by both Hibiki and Genjuro as the rest of the team panics.

"Stop, Mei! That is Sakurai. Who is Fine, anyway?"

"Exactly what Tachibana said. Mei, can you stop and explain who Fine is?"

"What are you guys talking about? While her appearance is different, I recognize her as the one responsible for Hibiki-senpai's death and the reason for Kanade's demise."

Upon hearing my words, the team falls silent. As expected from someone who uses other people's bodies to exist, Sakurai’s expression makes her seem like just a head scientist. Yet here I am, confined in this room.

While I thought my act was convincing, I'm unsure how to proceed. I was never meant to exist in the first place. I know Sakurai is a kind woman, but Fine is not. The only reason she changed toward the end and even helped was because of Hibiki.

I’m curious about what she will do if I expose her true self this early in the timeline. There’s a chance she could be playing the fool; Fine is rather fond of Symphogear, and there’s no way she would run away, especially with a relic she doesn’t understand and the existence of parallel worlds.

It’s taking longer than I expected for them to explain things. Just as I contemplate escaping, the door opens, and Genjuro enters with Sakurai. I’m surprised, but I glare at her to maintain the illusion. To make it feel more real, I imagine the person I hated in my previous life as Sakurai.

"Calm down, Mei. We need to talk with you, especially about what you know regarding the future."

"I'm calm, but why is she here? To think we meet in this way... I can’t say I’m surprised, Fine. Is this your vessel this time? While you look different from when we first met, I can’t say I’m shocked; you tend to take over other people's bodies so often that I almost forget if you have a body of your own."

As expected, I struck a nerve; I could see a vein throbbing on her forehead, while Genjuro silently watched both of us.

"Geez, what are you even talking about, Mei? My name is Sakurai Ryoko, you know."

"Oh, right. If I remember correctly, Hibiki-senpai mentioned that Sakurai was her former body. But as expected, you're still as sly as ever. How's the Nehushtan Armor? Have you given it to that girl, Chris? Oh, and Shénshòujìng is with you too, isn’t it?"

She remained unfazed, but as someone who had watched the anime until the final season, I knew what could disturb her. However, revealing that I came from the distant future would be a risk I was willing to take just to see her reaction.

"You seem calm, just as I expected. But maybe I should blame Enki for failing to kill Shem-Ha in the first place or for not informing you about why he cast that curse—what was it called? Oh yes, the curse of Balal."

The moment I uttered the name of the curse, Sakurai lunged at me with a speed surpassing that of an ordinary person, revealing her Fine form. I could see Genjuro's surprise, but what shocked me was her strength. It was clear that she still held deep feelings for her former lover.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Oh, so you don't care about your disguise anymore? Perfect. The reason he didn’t tell you is that he loves you, of course—you idiot."

"Hah! A man like that loves me? Maybe he did in the past, but not after that betrayal."

"Well, he betrayed you, but what did you expect him to do after failing to kill Shem-Ha? Let her dominate the world?"

At my words, Fine fell silent and stepped back, likely contemplating whether my statement was a lie. I decided to push a little further.

"Is the man you love really someone who would betray his lover without reason, Fine? If that's what you think, then I’ll be even more disappointed in you."

After delivering that final blow, Fine slowly sank to her knees, shaking and beginning to cry. It was fair, I suppose; she had always believed her lover betrayed both her and her race, when in reality, he had simply failed his mission and was doing the best he could in that situation.

Now that I think about it, we’ve kind of ignored Genjuro, who just sits there with his arms crossed, deep in thought. While this is fine for now, I’m starting to feel uncomfortable since I’ve never transformed for this long, and I want to change back. However, doing so would mean revealing my identity.

As I ponder this, I absentmindedly play with the relic crystal on my chest. Even though both Hibiki and I have relic shards inside our bodies, when we transform, it manifests as a relic crystal on our chests, just like others who transform.

While I’m lost in thought, I notice that Fine has already stood up and taken a seat in front of me, staring intently.

"Can you explain further what you meant by that earlier?" she asks.

"Even if you ask, I wasn't there myself; I only heard about it from Hibiki-senpai in the future. Basically, for Shem-ha to dominate the world, she needs everyone to be connected. That’s why, after failing to kill her, Enki decided to curse the world to sever those connections, which is why there are so many languages now."

My answer, taken from Enki in the anime, shocks them. Genjuro makes a rare expression of surprise, while Fine quickly recovers, lost in thought.

"I see. Knowing him, he probably did that to protect everyone... what a justice-loving idiot."

She starts to cry again, but the problem with Shem-Ha still looms over the other teams, so I can’t really blame her.

She regains her composure and gazes at me intently.

"Then you must know what I'm planning to do, Mei, since you said you come from the future."

"Which plan do you mean? The one where you want to end the curse of Balal to become the supreme ruler of the world and restore your civilization? Good luck with that since Shem-Ha is still alive. Or are you referring to those smaller plans you’ve devised to achieve your grand ambitions? For example, does the word 'Kadingir' ring a bell?"

"It looks like you're not kidding when you say you're from the future. Please answer one question: does Enki ever love me?"

"From my perspective, he loves you enough to seal Shem-Ha instead of letting her dominate the world. But hey, that’s just my interpretation. If you want the truth, you’ll have to ask him yourself."

"WAIT, HE'S STILL ALIVE?"

It seems I've revealed a bit too much about the future. At the same time, I don't want her to betray this group, especially since Hibiki likes Sakurai. Well, what's done is done; the rice has already turned to porridge.

"To answer your question, it's both yes and no. However, if you want to ask more, I won't answer, as I've already divulged too much about the future. I don't want Shem-Ha to fully revive when the girls aren't ready to fight her."

"Hmmm... I see. While I admit I was a bit hasty this time, I understand why you can't reveal more. So, if I make the other Symphogear users stronger, will you tell me where he is?"

"You've put me in a tough position, but I expected that from you. There are certain events that must happen in order for us to defeat Shem-Ha in the future."

"Wait, Mei, based on what you said, can't we just prevent Shem-Ha from reviving in the first place?"

"Indeed, you could. But fate is a strange thing. While my presence here does change things, we can’t know what the main events of this world are. Even if you alter some circumstances, they will still occur. In the worst-case scenario, I don't want to be the one to trigger it. So, no thank you. If it's Hibiki in the future, then maybe she'll reveal everything she knows, especially since that girl regrets many things."

I slowly stood up and broke the door as I walked out.

"Well, in the end, I've revealed too much about the future. I wonder what you'll do now, Fine, knowing that everything you've planned may be in vain and that someone might use you for it."

I activated camouflage and moved to an empty place before undoing my transformation and heading back to my apartment. After revealing too much, who knows what will happen in the future?