Chapter 24: Fate is a strange thing

In the end, I could see Hibiki was trembling, likely from facing her father. It ended up not going as she expected, which is normal, I guess. Even if you want to understand someone, it's hard when it's the one who hurt you the most or wasn't even there when you needed them. So, I just called Miku, hoping she would clear her mind.

Around this time, Micha would probably attack that underground utilities line where all kinds of electric cables ran, from normal electricity for houses to internet cables. It was their way to get information about that seabed relic chamber, though I've already forgotten the name of that place.

Just as I thought, the alarm started to ring, a sign of Alca-Noise. After I entered the command room, Hibiki, Miku, Shirabe, and Kirika were the ones going, as they were nearby. As for why Chris was there, well, she was still focused on getting revenge against Leiur, the one who defeated her, so after school, she always went straight to HQ.

With Miku, it should be fine, I thought. Besides, Shirabe and Kirika were already getting along well after our talk, so it should be fine. But in the end, trying to protect Miku, Hibiki became reckless and was taken down by Micha. Luckily, because Shirabe and Kirika had already fixed their common problem, they were managing well and managed to buy enough time for Micha to be called back by Phara.

The rest of the team had already hurried to where they were, but I already knew it was going to be too late, so I was just in the command room watching. I could see Elfnein sitting there, wearing special glasses that blocked her view of certain important information, which were invented by Fine.

Around this time, Shinji should be investigating and starting to understand the enemies' objective. So, I decided to leave the command room and go to the medical room. I saw Miku sitting beside Hibiki, who was still sleeping, as Fine and Elfnein had already checked on her.

"It's all my fault," Miku said.

"Not really. Hibiki was distracted by something else, but she insisted on joining the fight, and you already knew her state before going underground, right, Miku?"

At my words, Miku just went silent as she watched over Hibiki. Then, I proceeded to give her a headpat before I stood up.

"Don't force yourself. Besides, now you have the power in your hand, so all you need to do is master it to protect something important to you. I know what it feels like to helplessly watch as our loved ones fight while we can't do anything besides giving them a cheer."

Feeling restless and with nothing to do, I left the room. A yawn threatened to overtake me, so I decided to head to the simulation room to practice my singing and dancing. Compared to the other three, I was still a beginner, and I already had three songs in mind that I wanted to release.

Inside the simulation room, I transformed it into a stage. I began to slowly sing the songs, adding my own twist to the idol versions that had been sung in the past. This was the first time I'd tried performing them solo and with dancing, as before I had only sung them.

I lost track of time as I started singing the three songs I was planning to release. Without any background music, I could only use my voice. The three songs were "Only My Railgun," "Level5 Judgelight," and "Sister Noise," all from the same group, fripSide.

I chose these three songs because they were all from the same anime, though from different seasons. Besides being good songs, I already had a couple of duet songs planned, which I intended to do with Kanade. Tsubasa and Maria might get jealous, but I would figure something out.

I danced for what felt like hours, until I became thirsty and turned off the simulation. I saw all the Symphogear users watching me from the windows. The moment I looked at them, they averted their gaze, which made me sigh. I entered the observation room.

"Do you guys have so much free time that you decided to watch me?"

"Ahahaha, well, laying in bed is boring. Besides, Miku said it would be a good way to take things off my mind. But those last three songs, are they new?"

"Somehow, I feel like you're trying to divert the topic, Hibiki. But yes, I was planning to release those three when the problem with Carol is taken care of."

"That's amazing. While we're still struggling to even find her actions, you're already moving on, desu."

"That's because you all want to prove that you can handle this, right? Besides, with the addition of Serena, Miku, and Kanade, I doubt you guys will have a hard time. Though, if you guys get distracted because of something, then I wouldn't be surprised."

I gazed at Hibiki when I said that, but she just laughed and scratched the back of her head, which made me sigh as the rest of the team laughed.

"Well, has Shinji found out their target, and has Carol shown herself?"

"Yes and no. Shinji found out that they are indeed searching for something, and when Shinji looked at it, their aim was the place where all the relics have been safeguarded for years. As for Carol, she hasn't been seen yet for now."

"I see, so in the end, there is some change after all, but that is fine as well."

My words confused them, but that was fine, since in the end, I just supported them when they needed it, like the moment when Leiur's giant body attacked the submarine. Well, for now, Hibiki and the rest should be fighting Micha, so the question is, should I go and help Tsubasa and Maria? But I feel like that is troublesome.

I thought things would progress faster, but it seems fate is reverting to the norm. I wonder what the point of everything was. Was Carol's awakening necessary after Micha's defeat, or is there something more?

If it's just the former, I only need to figure out the central point. But if it's the latter, we might face serious trouble. After Carol's last stand, the Gjallarhorn relic awakened, linking to a parallel world, a world that's near and in danger. The nature of that danger remains unknown, as the wiki doesn't explain it.

If, in the worst-case scenario, we're linked to a world under attack by Karma-Noise, I need to protect the girls at all costs. They aren't ready yet, unless they achieve Amalgam form. Whether that's near or far off depends on Saint-Germain's plan.

I really need to make a plan. In the worst-case scenario, I'll need to have Fine and Elfnein collaborate to create the philosopher's stone. But there's a chance we won't achieve Amalgam form, since Hibiki later revealed that Saint-Germain lent her assistance when she was in a pinch.

Seriously, everything that's happening is giving me a headache. I decided to do some idol training since I couldn't come up with an answer, but then the alarm went off. I assumed Micha was attacking, probably targeting Kirika and Shirabe.

But surprisingly, she aimed for Miku instead. Miku defeated her solo, proving to Hibiki that she's no longer weak. In that case, I feel like Serena is the only one who hasn't had a serious fight, as all her battles have been in a group.

Well, she seems happy just being with her older sister, and in fact, she's much more talented at using Airgetlám compared to Maria. To be fair, it was originally her relic. Besides, now that I think about it, Maria has never really had her own relic; most of the time, her relic is either a copy of Kanade's or Serena's.

Maybe that's why she struggled in the anime; her moves weren't really her own. That makes me think, maybe next time I should try to get a copy of the Gungnir relic and have Maria wield a duo-relic. That would mean finding a world where Hibiki and Kanade aren't present, so Gungnir doesn't have a user yet.

Besides, Morgan doesn't appear very often. She says my syncro is still unstable, so she rarely shows up. But every time I do idol training, she appears without fail and even mentors me on how to move my body, or rather, her body, since apparently my female form is like hers.

Now I wonder how to raise my syncro, or rather, stabilize it. Apparently, according to Morgan, the key is feeling and singing, which is a typical Symphogear answer, since they really need to sing. But now that I think about it, I always sing whatever comes to mind, but I never really remember the lyrics. I wonder why?

Whenever I tried to remember the lyrics, I always got a headache. Was it something about the past? That would mean I was singing the same song Hibiki sings when she fights. That makes me think I really can't comment on Maria since I'm basically the same as my relic is: Hibiki from that world, and Morgan as well.

Still thinking, I decided I needed a break and entered the command room. They had already started discussing who was going where, as they had apparently managed to find out that the Autoscorer and Carol were going for two targets. One was Tsubasa's home, and the other was the relic safehouse on the seabed—if I remember correctly, it was called the Dragon Palace.

Inside that place, there are so many relics being sealed. Still, there are so many things different from the original timeline. Kanade, Maria, and Serena decided to go with Tsubasa to her home, which led to Shirabe, Kirika, Chris, and me going with HQ to the Dragon Palace. As for Hibiki, she was still at the hospital since she still needed a checkup, and Miku was with her.

So now we were closing in on the Dragon Palace, and right on cue, Carol was attacking the place with Leiur. Then, Genjuro got a call from Shinji. Apparently, the moment they arrived, Phara attacked them as well. Though they failed to protect the stone, Tsubasa went into shock and fainted, which gave them a moment of pause.

Surprisingly, even though Kanade and Serena were over there, the result didn't change. But I hoped to change the situation over here, since I was going to let Chris and the other two go while I planned to safeguard the submarine.

"So why didn't you go follow them, Mei? From what I know, you always overprotected them, but recently you've let them go on their own and rarely participate in the fighting."

"I have my reasons, Genjuro, but one of the biggest is that this is a new start, and I need to test myself. Do I trust them enough or not?"

I slowly gazed at the screen, which showed Chris and the two now facing Carol and Leiur, just like in the anime.

"From what I hear about what happened to Tsubasa, I can roughly guess what happened. That means fate, without me interfering directly, will try to follow what is supposed to happen."

"Which is?"

"Tsubasa will be defeated, and the stone will be destroyed, while Carol will manage to attack the Dragon Palace. Even though we made it so that Elfnein can't see important stuff, she managed to get it anyway. So, unless I directly do something, the timeline will try to follow some key fate, no matter what happened previously."

I slowly ground my teeth in frustration, but at least there was some good news and bad news. Kanade and Serena weren't being erased, and Miku's relic hadn't suddenly disappeared, but that meant Elfnein would get hurt in this one unless I interfered directly, which I will.

"Custodire Welt Aegis Zizl."

As I transformed inside the submarine, I left a shield on everyone in the command room. I tried to leave, but Genjuro stopped me.

"Where are you going, Mei?"

"Preparing for what's about to happen. If things go as I expect, Chris and the other two will be fine. The problem is who's coming next."

As I entered the area where I could exit the submarine, I heard Genjuro talking about an approaching humanoid weapon. This meant Carol and Dr. Ver had already escaped, and Chris had managed to defeat the Leiur. Now, all that was left was to protect everyone.