Chapter 31: The seed of doubt

I slowly gaze at the night sky above the now empty stadium where I just performed my last live for today. I still can't see any stars because of the city lights, which still amaze me; when there's enough light below, you can dim the view of the stars above.

Thinking about the future, I doubt I can win against the final boss because of how much of a cheat she was. Even if I wanted to hunt her now, I barely remember where her corpse was, the events leading to her bracelet being found, and what's more, Genjuro's father, Fudo Kazanari, is operating in the shadows.

While I want to kill him now, I still hold myself back since that scum still has a purpose: to ensure that Genjuro, Yatsuhiro, and finally Tsubasa break free from that cursed family. Though now that I think about it, that guy is truly trash to even NTR his own son. Maybe that's why her mother never appeared.

If I remember correctly, to host Shem'Ha, which that guy plans to revive and control, the host needs to be pure of the curse. The only way to achieve that is to bathe in Shenshoujing's ray. But now that I think about it, the Holy Grail is a holy relic as well. That guy probably sees me and Hibiki as the only potential hosts.

Still, I wonder, knowing that guy, he's probably going to aim for me since Hibiki is always moving around near Genjuro. But I am always doing some idol activity, so most of the time I'm in Japan, which is perfect for his plan to control God. It's pretty funny to me that he tried to control God instead of letting her have a good vessel.

At least for now, I should wait until Bavarian Illuminate is gone. If Cagliostro manages to persuade the other two, that's already good news for me. But if not, and the plot still follows the original, I can at least mitigate their deaths so they can become another source of power for Hibiki and the rest, since Alchemy is truly useful after all.

Now that I think about it, there are those three pitiful girls from the last season...

Achieving a perfect ending is incredibly hard, especially when you start to forget the details of what's going to happen in the future. What's more, even though I somehow managed to revive both Kanade and Serena, it was more out of luck since the copy of the relic they used was inside that treasury.

Now that I think about it, my memory of my second life is gone. But I should be glad at least this memory isn't erased like my second life's. Seriously though, I wonder if I managed to reach a Custodian-level being since I somehow managed to select which memories got burned. But now I just need to wait.

Still, I wonder what the situation was like for me to sacrifice my memory, and how powerful I was back then?

Well, all I can do is wait.

Then, just as I expected, the girls from Bavarian Illuminate started to attack again. But this time it was Cagliostro alone, which surprised me as it was much later compared to the original. Well, at least because the snake is now gone and she's coming late compared to the original, the plane managed to set off before their attack.

But this just bugs me: why does she keep continuing the attack? Is it to misdirect the others? Or did she never trust me in the first place?

Well, she is a real person now, not like a character from an anime, so it was no surprise that she acted differently from the anime. But if it ends up following the original, then I really need to brace myself. That would mean I'd have to endure the deaths of three girls at the same time. While I should be able to manage with Morgan's relic and the divine energy at that moment, I honestly don't want to feel that kind of pain anymore.

Slowly letting out a huge sigh, I looked at the red moon. If I remember correctly, it only appears every two and a half years, though I don't know if that information is accurate. But seriously, looking at the red moon, which almost resembles blood, makes me wonder if I should just end it all.

However, that bastard Adam is rather slippery since he can teleport. If I make a mistake, he'll just hide again, which is troublesome. All teleportation users are troublesome, no matter the universe, which makes me wonder if the Ragna-mail, planned to be given to everyone, can teleport like mine does.

Now that I think about it, why did that guy only use teleportation near the end of the season?

Why did he never use it previously?

Is there some limit to it?

Then suddenly, a chill touched my cheek, making me let out a weird sound. I heard Shinji laugh, so I just glared at him.

"Ahahahaha, sorry, you're just too serious that I ended up teasing you."

"Hahh... it's okay. I just ended up hitting a dead end anyway, so what brings you here, Shinji?"

"Well, of course, to check on our star since you haven't come down for a while."

Hearing that, I just stared at him while slowly taking the drink he offered and jumping up to the rail and slowly walking.

"Seriously, even now, I still wonder why I'm the one who keeps doing this show when Tsubasa, Kanade, and Maria clearly like doing it the most."

"It can't be helped; you're still an idol, after all. Besides, they're currently busy in Africa, chasing the Bavarian Illuminati. But you said earlier you hit a dead end. Will you tell us what you're thinking about?"

I slowly look up at the night sky, unable to see the stars because of the city lights. Then I glance at Shinji, meeting his resolute gaze, but I just slowly smile and shake my head.

"Can you tell me why?"

I slowly look away and gaze at the city.

"There are many answers I could give you: that I'm preparing for a worse enemy, or because I don't think you guys are strong enough yet. But largely, it's because I'm afraid that I will fail."

"Fail?"

"Indeed. Well, to be honest with you, Shinji, I've mostly forgotten the memories of my world because I tried to undo my regret. I don't know if it was a success or not, but ultimately, I paid the price for it, which is why I am here now. While trying to save Hibiki in the future, I was sent back to the past. However, since I've already altered this world too much, that future has certainly branched off."

I continue to walk, hearing Shinji follow me, and I slowly stop at the corner facing the lake.

"Besides, I'm basically a foreign being, and this world needs the power to protect itself in the grand scheme of things. So, for now, I will do anything to strengthen them, and one such plan is already being built by Fine and Carol, so please be patient."

Hearing my words, Shinji lets out a sigh as he takes out his glasses from his pocket but doesn't wear them.

"You know you can rely on us, right?"

"Yes, but like I said earlier, I'm still afraid because things have already started to spiral out from what I used to know. While there are still things that are the same, so I'm not completely blind, for the details? I can only say I'm going blind, just like you guys. Besides, when you guys are stronger later on, I will gladly ask for your help."

I slowly smile at Shinji as he closes his eyes and puts on his glasses.

"Fine then, but for now let's head back because you have work early in the morning."

"Yes, yes, alright, I know, but seriously, I'm starting to regret becoming an idol."

"Well, indeed, but you're not quitting anytime soon, right?"

"Indeed, at least until Tsubasa becomes firm enough on this path."

"Tsubasa, huh..."

I slowly let out a chuckle since Tsubasa was rejecting offers from a world-famous composer and producer because she was planning to focus on her Symphogear job. Though she only said that she planned to think about it, that producer really regarded Tsubasa highly; he even said he would wait until she came back.

Well, Tsubasa's voice actor is kind of famous in my world too, so I kind of understand it.

But sitting in the passenger seat, I glance at the rearview mirror and stare at Shinji, who is already focused on driving, and start to think about what Cagliostro and the other two are doing now. Early this morning, Cagliostro and Prelati attacked the plane Tsubasa and Maria were on, so if I look at the timeline, things have already changed, like the location, for example.

Originally, it was supposed to take place in Val Verde, which is located in South America, but now it's moved to the area between the original Val Verde and Africa, which just shows me that this is clearly different from the original, though some of the major events are still the same. Now I wonder, since I already told Cagliostro the truth, the seed of doubt should have sprouted inside her earlier than in the original.

So now I need to be prepared since there's a chance that things will happen earlier, because there's no way Adam wouldn't notice Cagliostro's betrayal. After all, in the original, he noticed it too, which is why he let both Cagliostro and Prelati die to ensure he could manipulate Saint-Germain so he could proceed with his twisted plan to conquer humanity.

I wonder if Saint-Germain will naively follow his plan. When I destroyed the snake and spoke to the trio, I noticed Saint-Germain still had slight doubts, which is completely different from the original. So, there's a chance things will spiral even more out of control, with Adam forcing Saint-Germain instead of her willingly following his plan.

At least the Ragna-Mail is almost complete, so Hibiki and the rest should get a ride. What's more, Fine, Carol, and Elfnein have already solved Dr. Ver's recipe. They no longer need to delve deep into Maria's mind to find the phenomenon where she surpassed the Linker's limits back then.

Furthermore, Miku also has a Symphogear, so even though she's attending class as usual, Hibiki probably won't worry about her as much as when Bavarian started attacking Japan. Though, Miku really enables Hibiki's laziness as she's always hopping between the base and the school.

Well, at least when Ragna-Mail is complete, she won't have that worry, now that I think about it.

"Shinji."

"Yes, what is it, Mei?"

"Well, it's almost complete, so I don't mind telling you, because I think Fine will announce it later anyway. But I already asked her to make a special ride for the girls as they often need to go fast. I kind of forgot, though, did they need some kind of license since it's like a flying bike? Should they get a pilot's license or a driver's license?"

Hearing my question, Shinji looked surprised before turning to me. But seeing my expression, he focused back on driving.

"Well, Fine still has connections, and S.O.N.G is under the United Nations, so it should be fine. But I hope you tell me about these things sooner because this is bad for my heart, Mei."

"Sorry, I kind of forgot because at the time, I didn't think Carol and Fine could make them that fast, but I was underestimating them."

"Wait, now that I think about it, there was a recent sighting of an unknown flying device in Tokyo. Could it be?"

"Oh, that was me. I was testing the vehicle, but I never expected them to replicate the original abilities, even though the material needed doesn't exist. As expected of Alchemy."

"Nononono, wait a minute. Didn't that flying vehicle suddenly appear in the sky? What kind of thing did you ask Fine to build, Mei?"

I can see Shinji starting to sweat; he's clearly panicking, which is such a rare sight that it makes me want to tease him more, but I decided not to.

"Well, I just gave Fine my idea. A lot of the time, we arrive a little late on the scene. While Chris and I have flying abilities, the others don't really have one. Though they indeed have their own methods of transportation, they are slower than Chris and me, so I decided to ask Fine if she could build that."

I slowly smirk at Shinji.

"What's more, Fine went even beyond what I asked her and upgraded it, which is why I can use that thing to teleport now."

"Wait, did you just say 'teleport'?"

"Yeah, because that machine originally had teleportation abilities. But the main reason I asked Fine to build that was for three reasons."

I slowly raise three fingers.

"The first is that it can fly and transform into a robot to protect the user. The second, which is the important part, is because I like robots."

Shinji showed his rarely shocked expression before letting out an awkward laugh, but I decided to ignore him.

"And the third one, this machine, has a special feature: it synchronizes with the user's feelings, especially through song, and I think it can synergize with Symphogear."

Shinji's face turned serious for a moment.

"Then."

"Yes, while I don't know if the other Ragna-Mail can teleport like mine, they should get some special power because they can synergize with Symphogear."

Shinji let out a sigh.

"Looks like I need to have a long talk with Fine, since I feel like she's started to spoil you recently."

I just let out a giggle as I stared outside the window, imagining the scene where all of us Symphogear riders are on Ragna-Mails, which just lit up my feelings.