Chapter 6

"...Wait. Perhaps your tension is a little hyped-up because of the Climax Hybrid's success, but stop doing something reckless."

The Albatrosses prepared their bayonets and charged right at the two.

"Don't worry. Thanks to that success right now my Hybrid Count is also at full charge. If it's now then I can work to my heart's content. If it's just buying time for you to shoot that large cannon of yours, I'll do it."

Cold sweat was flowing down on Aine's cheek.

"Wa, wait, calm down. Anyway just wait――"

"I'll take care of all the magic weapons that are approaching you. That's why, I'll leave that large battleship to you yeah!"

Kizuna raised the output of Eros' thruster and flew away.

"Stop it! Kizuna!"

Ignoring Aine's scream, Kizuna headed to the Albatross squad, flying with all his speed.

"Here we go, Eros! Show your true strength right here!!"

Kizuna noticed it.

The something rushing about inside himself, something that was not him.

Its true identity.

"Mode Zeros!"

As if responding to Kizuna's shouting voice, blue radiance was rushing around Eros' body.

The line of light running on Eros's surface was changing from pink to blue.

Looking at that figure, Aine reflexively murmured.

"That's... Zeros?"

Eros's flight speed changed.

It was as if one changed the ride from Cessna plane into a fighter jet, a speed of a different dimension.

It was obviously not the speed of Eros.

Entering the range of the Albatross, shooting from the bayonets attacked Kizuna.

The thrusters in Eros's legs and waist ignited, the gear accelerated to the second gear as if kicking on the sky.

Kizuna flew past the bayonet's range in one breath and appeared before an Albatross' eyes.

"UOOOOOOOOOO!"

Kizuna's fist struck into the Albatross' face.

With that one attack, the Albatross' face was pulverized.

'――As expected.'

Kizuna was convinced of Eros' transformation.

Inside the broken fragments of the scattered light, he faced the next prey and flew.

"HAAAA!"

A round kick was launched at the giant body. The enemy's armor was crushed and sparks flew from the gaps of the armor. The Albatross couldn't endure the impact from the kick, its body was torn off.

'――This movement, this combat ability,

This is Zeros' power.

――The Hybrid of Zeros and Eros.'

With Climax Hybrid, the ability of the partner was reproduced.

This was exactly the true ability of Eros.

Right now the Albatrosses didn't judge Aine as threat, their target moved to Kizuna. They turned to Kizuna and rained him down with concentrated firing. However, the fired bullets looked unmoving. While evading those bullets with a paper-thin difference, he charged at the Albatrosses.

"DROP DEADDDD!"

He struck that face with a flying kick.

The face sunk inside, forcing out the mechanisms from the back of the head.

"Aine! I won't let anything get close to you! Blow that ship away without reservation!!"

With a sigh, Aine's lips slackened.

"Deceiving this me is something unforgivable. Just remember. After this, I'll give you your punishment."

Aine returned her gaze to the enemy fleet.

In the eyes of Aine that were glaring at the enemy fleet, red and golden orbits rushing through the sky were reflected.

When Aine opened her floating window, a transmission was sent.

"This is Aine Zeros. I will carry out bombardment to the enemy flagship from Ataraxia's sky. If you get in the line of fire you will die. Hayuru, Yurishia, move aside from there."

{Eh, eeh, Aine!? What are you doing in that kind of place! It's no good unless you rest!}

{Aine-san! You are safe-? You said bombardment...}

Yurishia and Himekawa that were projected in the windows were greatly shocked from Aine's figure that looked energetic.

"Both of you, the talk is for later. Do as I said."

{Waitt, Aine. I don't understand what you said at all――}

"Please, I beg you."

{...Haa, it can't be helped.}

{I don't really understand... but for the time being, we will temporarily withdraw from the battle front.}

The golden and red lights were visibly withdrawing from the front line.

"Then, here I go!"

Wind and radiant light were forming a vortex with Aine as the center. Below her, several rings of light also appeared.

The wind and radiance were gradually becoming stronger, it was just like a tornado of light.

The atmosphere was shaking repeatedly.

The clouds whirled and thunder traveled inside those clouds.

Aine and the Corruption Armament caused electrical discharge phenomenon, haze was flickering in her surrounding.

"This is the retribution for doing whatever you please. I'll show you hell."

Aine pulled the trigger.

The wind stopped.

It felt like the time itself had stopped.

"Pulverizer!"

The eyes were blinded.

Fierce flood of lights and explosion sounds were created. And then shockwave assaulted the surroundings.

"UWAAA!"

Kizuna received a shockwave as if he was hit by a car, he was blown away to the back.

Thunder rushed through the sky.

The space distorted, the scenery at Aine's surrounding was deformed.

The light emitted from the Corruption Armament was swallowing everything with explosive amount of light and pressure.

Magic weapons were swallowed into the vortex of light and pulverized.

All things that were in the line of fire, whether it was magic weapon, dust, air, even space and time was being destroyed all the same.

The gigantic whirlpool of light was like the wrath of god, heading toward the AU battleship.

The battleship materialized many layers of shield at its front.

The bombardment of the Pulverizer pulverized all of those shields entirely.

And then the bombardment traversed the sky in an instant and impacted the large battleship.

The hull of the large battleship, from its bow towards its stern, was skewered through by the spear of light.

The part that received direct hit was completely erased from time and space, smashed apart, compressed, and exterminated.

The gigantic battleship that even reached two thousand meters was being swallowed by light.

Its armor and deck, everything was stripped off, the mechanisms inside were scattered to the sky.

The enormous hull was warping as if it was being squeezed. The sound of metal torn off by unimaginable power roared through the sky.

That was the shriek of this enormous battleship. Flames and explosions were continuously happening without pause.

And then, finally a large explosion occurred. Intense flash was covering the sky with pure white color.

It was as if a second sun was created in the sky.

The fragments changed into fragments of light, crumbling down everywhere. Drops like glittering snow were raining down on the ground.

"I... incredible."

Kizuna was dumbfounded from that excessive destructive power.

The heat from Aine and the Corruption Armament made the scenery flicker.

Haze were rising up from the blade part doubling as the ejection of the Corruption Armament's residue heat. Hot wind and light particles was spitted out from the exhaust port in one go.

Right at that time, Yurishia and Himekawa who withdrew from the front line returned back.

IMG_000 (15)

"Wait! Just now, what in the world――what's with that artillery!?"

"Don't tell me...the incredible bombardment just now, Aine-san was the one who did that!?"

"Yes, I did that with this Corruption Armament."

Aine said that with an extremely triumphant look.

"Co, Corruption... Armament!?"

Himekawa reflexively raised a shout.

"That's... Zeros' new weapon."

With a face unable to believe what she was seeing, Yurishia alternately looked at Aine and the Corruption Armament.

"Please wait. ...Then that means…"

Himekawa pointed her sword at Kizuna.

"This time, what kind of perverted act the two of you just did!?"

"Uwaa, wait wait. You, you're wrong! Something like that is――"

Putting aside those exchange, Aine set up the Corruption Armament one more time.

"Rather than things like that, I'm going to shoot one more time. I'll turn the remaining fleet into dust without leaving a single ship behind."

With the lost of the flagship, the enemy fleet was trying to retreat.

Facing their back, Aine entered the stance of bombardment.

"Terrible shockwave will come when the Corruption Armament is shot! Everyone, be careful!"

Following Kizuna's voice, Yurishia and Himekawa put themselves on guard, at that instant,

Once again an explosive impact and tremendous light was heading to the enemy fleet.

The light carrying an absolute destructive power was assaulting the enemy fleet.

――However,

The light of the Pulverizer was greatly repelled in front of the fleet.

"What-!?"

It was a severe collision between light and light.

Something that looked like a shield of similar variety with Pulverizer was blocking the attack.

"That's, impossible!? This is the Corruption Armament that shot down that large battleship with one attack!"

After a fiercely conspicuous shine, the light was suddenly converged.

"Oi... that's…"

A figure was floating in the sky.

Right at the spot where the light of Pulverizer was stopped, something was floating.

That silhouette looked humanoid.

"Is that... magic weapon?"

"It's too small for that. Don't tell me..."

――Human.

However, its limbs were too thick for a human. Around the body, something like weapon was floating.

It was as if,

"Is that... Heart Hybrid Gear?"

It had emerald green luminescence, a Heart Hybrid Gear that they had never seen before.

The one equipping it was a female with great style, tall height and long legs.

Was that... someone from Ataraxia?

However, other than the four people here, there was no more official team members. There shouldn't be any other student who was granted with Heart Hybrid Gear.

The mysterious Heart Hybrid Gear raised one of its hands.

Thereupon, the surviving warships began to accelerate as if that was the signal.

The figure that looked really similar with Heart Hybrid Gear was staring at Kizuna and the others for a while. Before long it turned around and left together with the AU fleet toward the other side of the sky.

"Just now... what was that?"

Questions naturally spilled out from the mouth.

"Don't tell me, that's also, a magic weapon of AU….. is it?"

"In addition... wasn't it too similar with us I wonder."

The Heart Hybrid Gear.

What was similar was not only the gear. The one wearing it couldn't be seen as anything other than human.

Kizuna shook his head.

"No matter how I see it, isn't that a human... that shouldn't be a human from another world."

"――But, at the very least it was not an ally."

Aine was staring fixedly at the blue sky where the enemy had vanished to.