Chapter 25: Facing yourself

I underestimated the water pressure...

While preparing for the giant attack first was a good call, underwater I can't sing, and what's more, the water pressure is insane. I'm fine because of the Symphogear, but the pain is harsh. Luckily, it didn't take long for us to reach the surface. Like in the anime, the giants that Leiur often uses for support began to attack, and I could only block them.

Though I could defeat these giants, I preferred letting Chris handle it since she was already in Ignite Module form. It was easier for me to tank them, but she kept attacking relentlessly. Because I was on top of the submarine, the footing was terrible, and I felt like I would slip if I didn't focus on my legs while taking the attacks.

Then, I heard a giant arrow fly by and hit one of the giants right in the chest, instantly killing it. However, it exploded, so I had to create a huge shield to protect the submarine, which I managed to do just in the nick of time. Using such a huge shield in an emergency takes time, so I'm glad my synchronization with my gear has increased.

That was tiring, so I ended up lying on top of the submarine in a starfish shape. I was too tired to care when I heard a thud. Then, I saw Chris peeking at me.

"How are you doing?"

"Good. I've had worse, but next time, be faster."

"Can't be helped, okay? I was busy trying to get to the missile launcher."

"Yeah, let's go back."

"Mei, Chris, Carol's plan has entered its last stage, and now we're heading back to Tokyo as fast as we can, while Hibiki and the others who are nearby will help the citizens and guide them to nearby evacuation shelters."

"Roger."

"Sure, Genjuro. Though, I don't think going to the shelters will do anything when her plan is starting, but yeah, we'll join you."

Still, I hate that Carol names things in French because I barely remember the names. Château de Tiffauges should be activating by now, which means Dr. Ver and Carol probably already have infighting because Carol wants to destroy the world, while Dr. Ver wants to be a hero and have an audience, even with how screwed up his vision is.

We entered the command room, already transformed back, but I felt like it was only a matter of time before we transformed again. Carol would likely start the destruction early when she saw Hibiki talking with her dad.

I wanted to go there with a missile, but Genjuro denied my request. He said that without prior permission, we would get in a lot of trouble with the law, not to mention that any anti-air defenses would shut down the missile. When I suggested camouflaging it, he pointed out the existence of radar.

In the end, I lost that debate. Now, I needed to test if my camouflage could evade radar detection. If it was detected, I would try again using my amalgam form to see if the Faust robe made a difference. For now, I impatiently tapped my fingers on my crossed arms as I watched the screen where Hibiki was starting to fight.

While we were close enough, we still weren't permitted to go until we reached the docking area. It just showed how rules can restrict us at critical times, and I knew we were going to face even more restrictions now that we were under the United Nations.

In the real world, it's hard to uphold justice without following the rules, which, to be fair, were created to protect people in the first place. But they often become corrupted, making this world not that different from my life before reincarnation.

Finally, we reached the docking area and were permitted to go out. I used my surfing shield, which I had upgraded to be more stable than Chris's rocket. Because of that, the speed was slightly slower than Chris's maximum rocket speed, but at least it was something until they got used to Chris's rocket, as we were in a hurry.

On the way, we saw Tsubasa and the other three running, so I used my surfing shield to let them hop on. Mine was much more flexible in movement compared to Chris's rocket. They hopped off Chris's rocket for speed, and we finally reached Hibiki, who was fighting Carol and the Alca-Noise alone. I noticed Hibiki's dad was in a pinch.

I hopped down and shielded him as the others started to attack Carol and the Alca-Noise, giving Hibiki some breathing room. Then, I saw a black car drive near us, and Shinji was driving it. As expected, he caught up so fast with just a car, though I suspected he had broken a lot of road safety laws. Now wasn't the time for that, so I ignored it.

Hibiki's dad entered the car with Shinji. Before he left, he shouted words of encouragement to Hibiki, basically confirming that she and her dad had made peace. Now, nothing was holding Hibiki back. She punched and kicked her way through the Alca-Noise and managed to punch Carol.

But Carol transformed using the harp and started to sing her song, Senkin Daurdabla. I knew that the moment she started singing, she would start burning memories again, and her attack was now stronger than usual, basically the same level as a Superb Song. What's more, it wasn't just that.

"This power is the same as a superb song."

"That's not all. Look, Tsubasa."

"It's flashing... no, it's pulsing... wait, it's resonating."

Just like Maria said, Carol's castle, Château, started flashing green, resonating with Carol's song. Her song was the final key to activate the castle and destroy the world. The bottom of the castle began to crackle with lightning, then finally shot a green beam toward the ground before spreading in four directions, like water gushing from a small opening.

That's what it looked like from here, but from outside the world, Earth was surrounded by green light, with small and large beams crisscrossing the globe along the same routes as the photosphere Dr. Nastassja used to gather phonic gain.

"Now, the dissection of the world begins."

"I WON'T LET THAT HAPPEN!"

Hibiki, noticing the danger, tried to use her rocket punch, but ended up in pain after getting caught by the wires Carol often used. Maria used that chance to sneak past Carol, and knowing her plan, I followed with Kirika and Shirabe right behind me, spawning a surfing shield for us to ride.

"Maria, Mei."

"We'll stop the castle while you guys handle Carol."

I said that, but while sneaking past Carol, I slipped a protective shield onto her back. I wanted to see if I could protect Carol's memories of her father. I'm glad she didn't notice, maybe because she was too focused on fighting Hibiki and the rest. We finally managed to enter the castle after defeating the Alca-Noise standing in our way.

I wondered how the castle would respond. In the anime, Dr. Nastassja appeared because Maria was unstable back then. But because Dr. Nastassja is still alive and Serena is here, Maria is much more stable compared to her anime counterpart. However, the one who appeared shocked us, especially me.

"That is..."

"Hibiki."

"But that's different from the Hibiki we know, desu."

"That's probably Hibiki from Mei's world."

Seeing Hibiki wearing an Aegis Symphogear was a surprise, especially since her gear is completely different from when she wielded Gungnir. The gauntlet on her arm is much larger, resembling a shield. What surprised me most was her eye color; unlike the normal or alternate Hibiki, her eyes were blue.

"How long will you lie, Mei?"

"Mei, don't listen to her. She's a fake."

"Maria's right, Mei. The Hibiki you know is already dead."

"I know what you're thinking, desu, but don't listen to her, desu."

"I know, Maria, Kirika, and Shirabe, but I need to hear what she has to say. I'm curious."

"If you had been honest, there would have been fewer casualties. But even now, you continue to lie to them, and to us, even though I'm your girlfriend."

"Damn, I was a complete bastard back then. Sorry, but I have to go."

That hit where it hurt. Even if I wanted to stay, I probably couldn't. The wall came down, separating us, as this was Dr. Ver's doing, guiding us to rescue him. Maria and the others took this as an opportunity. Maria grabbed my hand, pulling me away as we ran.

"Seriously, what's wrong with this castle, desu? These traps are nasty, desu."

"It's more like a mind attack. I'm curious how it works, especially since I know from Morgan that I've lost a lot of memories from my world. How could it construct her so well?"

"That is a mystery indeed."

"You three need to focus. We're inside enemy territory now. There's no telling what traps await us."

But then Shirabe stopped, causing us to stop as well.

"What is it, Shirabe? Is it a trap, desu?"

"It's much worse than a trap."

I already knew who it was. I took a peek, and just as I thought, it was Dr. Ver. He looked even worse in person than he did in the anime. To be fair, that was anime, and this is real life.

"What are you doing here? Were you the one who guided us here?"

"Yes, but just barely. I'm lacking blood, you see, so I can't control much from over here."

Then he slowly stared at us.

"SO HOW ABOUT A TRADE?"

Just like in the anime, he offered to stop the castle as a reward, hoping to be remembered as the hero who stopped it. To be fair, he was the one who started it, but without him, I feel like Carol would have succeeded, just on a longer timeline. His existence only accelerated the plan, which worked in my favor.

In the end, we reached the control room because Dr. Ver basically gave us a safe route, which really helped. As Maria let Dr. Ver handle the controls, I noticed she threw her communicator away, which probably meant Elfnein was already speaking with her. But then Hibiki appeared once more.

She started to sing, though I don't know why I couldn't hear the lyrics, even though she was charging us while singing.

"The same song as Mei?!" x3

Well, that basically confirmed it, but this still sucks because I don't know what I'm singing, but the others can hear it. I wonder if this is a side effect of what I did in the past. But I decided to join in, and we managed to hit her back before her form suddenly transformed, becoming just like Morgan, though I know it was me.

"Duo Relic."

"What is that form, Mei?"

"Well, it's basically a form that you can access when you combine two relics, but it's still dangerous because I can't access a normal duo relic."

Then I slowly pushed my relic once, but then I proceeded to click it two more times, which surprised the other three. This basically meant I released all the limits of the Ignite Module. I could feel my whole body in pain, but this is what was needed. Then I noticed something different about my transformation.

"Mei... your face..."

Looks like my transformation indeed isn't normal, but I can feel the wings, so that meant I'm in the duo relic Ignite Module form now. What's more, I feel more powerful than usual, but I can hear Morgan's voice now.

'MEI. STOP THIS FORM NOW. YOU'RE STILL NOT READY. THE BACKLASH WILL BE SEVERE.'

"Sorry, Morgan, but I can't hold back now."

Besides the timing, it's only a matter of time before Carol attacks this castle. From the looks of it, Dr. Ver is probably going to finish this soon, so the only thing I need to do now is basically stop the copy of me. I shot all the shields in my wings.

She did the same, which made me feel like I was watching a funnel fight in Gundam, with shields shooting lasers and the other dodging. However, I was at a disadvantage because I had used some of my shield to protect the others and Dr. Ver, leaving me weaker compared to her.

My companions, thinking I could hear the others outside, were worried. They had overheard Dr. Ver saying this place would explode, taking us all with it—typical Dr. Ver, wanting to be remembered even in death.

Maria started saying she would atone for her sins here, while Kirika praised Chris, and Shirabe apologized to Hibiki. Funnily enough, they started coordinating well, and I took the chance to land the finishing blow. But before I could hit her, she transformed into Morgan, for reasons I don't know, and I ended up defeating her.

Seriously, this is making me tear up. Do they really think we're going to die? Did they forget I was here?

Besides, I'll make sure they survive no matter what. I saw a beam coming right at us, so I shoved them all away with my shield, letting Dr. Ver be, as I knew his wish. I proceeded to tank the beam, which was a mistake because it was much stronger than I thought.

"No, I won't let you get in the way of my becoming a hero!"

Dr. Ver's shout distracted me. When I came to, I was standing there with Maria, Shirabe, and Kirika.

"Dr. Ver, I see... so this is your resolve, huh..."

"Don't misunderstand me, Mei... I protected you all so you can spread my heroism."

He handed me the memory card, which probably contained the Linker and many other things, and then he slowly smiled at me.

"Hey, Mei, have I become a hero?"

"While your view of a hero is rather screwed up, yeah, you're really becoming a hero in the end."

Then Dr. Ver's hand slowly fell down. He was dead. Seriously, he ended up doing what he wanted, but in the end, he gave a good lesson to the trio, so it was fine.