Chapter 60

“Mr. Arihito, Ms. Elitia is—!” “I know… She’s going to succeed—I’m sure of it. So we need to keep all eyes on her…!” Elitia alone did not hop on Alphecca, instead standing fast on the ground, her Antares raised and her eyes closed. —In seeking to cross the starry seas, the chariot searches for the dark abyss.— The suit of armor abruptly began to flicker. Then it activated Star Gazer once more. “—!” That same instant, Elitia’s eyes flew open. I could have sworn I saw glittering galaxies reflected in their sheen. ♦Current Status♦ > ?INTELLIGENT ARMOR activated STAR GAZER > ELITIA activated ASTERISK Detected next spot ?INTELLIGENT ARMOR will appear > ELITIA activated COMET RAID Added SWORD BARRIER > ELITIA activated SLASH RIPPER Target: ?INTELLIGENT ARMOR > ?INTELLIGENT ARMOR activated AVOID ZERO Zero damage Apparition lifted Elitia’s slashes seemed to hit the armor square on, but they slid across the suit’s plate, finding no purchase and inflicting no damage. “But I saw her hit it…! This thing doesn’t play fair…!” Misaki whined. “This Hidden God Armor must wield a formidable defensive skill… However, it must also cost a great deal of magic. If Ms. Elitia can determine where it will appear next, then…” “We have to make it count. Suzuna, you’re up… Your Auto-Hit should find the right spot even in all this mess.” “…Okay. I’ll do my part—I promise!” As the suit of armor kept activating its Star Gazer to dodge Elitia’s attacks, we once again came upon the perfect moment. —Your swords cut naught but shadow, your blades cannot reach my mighty armor. All your toil is in vain.— The sentient suit of armor taunted us, trying to douse our will to fight—but Elitia never wavered. Whipping around to slice backward through an apparition that materialized behind her, her eyes flitted over in another direction. “There!” Suzuna’s arrow shot through the air following Elitia’s gaze, thrusting into the ground just in front of the next spot the armor showed itself— ♦Current Status♦ > SUZUNA activated AUTO-HIT Next two shots will automatically hit > SUZUNA attacked Failed —and missed, letting yet another golden opportunity slip through our fingers. At least, that’s what the armor was meant to think. We knew it would move on to another Star Gazer, this time in combination with At Random. “Theresia!” “—!!” ♦Current Status♦ > THERESIA activated ACTIVATE TRAP Activated WARP LOCK TRAP CUBE > ?INTELLIGENT WEAPON activated STAR GAZER Failed Theresia triggered the Trap Cube we’d attached to Suzuna’s arrow—the very same one we’d only just picked up from unlocking the traps on our Red Box—causing a circular ring to spread out beneath the armor. We’d taken a gamble, unsure if the cube could foil Star Gazer, but we worked together to make it happen and believed in each other. “Scatter your brilliance in step with my sworded dance, O blade of flowers!” ♦Current Status♦ > ARIHITO activated ATTACK SUPPORT 1 > ELITIA activated ULTIMATUM Attack power and speed increased Added SCARLET TRAILS > ELITIA activated STAR PARADE and LUMINOUS FLOW > STAR PARADE increased the number of ELITIA’s attacks > 42 stages of LUMINOUS FLOW hit ?INTELLIGENT ARMOR Added 40 SCARLET TRAILS > ?INTELLIGENT WEAPON activated AVOID ZERO 42 times Zero damage > ELITIA activated additional attacks 28 stages hit 364 support damage In a terrifying turn, the suit of armor nullified almost the entire barrage of attacks Elitia unleashed upon it, her blade flashing more quickly than the eye could follow—until: —Antares…the scarlet blade…devastates…the brilliance…of the stars.— “Ellie’s attacks—they worked…!” Misaki rejoiced. The suit of armor’s defensive skill that voided all attacks burned through its magic, or perhaps could be used only so many times in a row. After that, not even the rock-hard armor could negate the power of Attack Support 1. “Arihito! Ladies!” Elitia cried out. “Let’s go!” “““Okay!””” Igarashi, Melissa, and Seraphina leaped off Alphecca and rushed in to attack—and hit the armor with everything they had. “Cooperation Support—All Out Assault!” ♦Current Status♦ > ARIHITO activated COOPERATION SUPPORT 1 and ATTACK SUPPORT 1 > MISAKI activated JOKER OF THUNDER Hit ?INTELLIGENT ARMOR Failed to anger ?INTELLIGENT ARMOR Converted ?INTELLIGENT ARMOR’s weakness to lightning attribute > ARIHITO activated DARKNESS BULLET Hit ?INTELLIGENT ARMOR Weak spot attack ?INTELLIGENT ARMOR was Electrocuted Combined attack stage 1 > KYOUKA activated LIGHTNING RAGE Hit ?INTELLIGENT ARMOR Weak spot attack Electrocuted state extended Combined attack stage 2 > LIGHTNING RAGE activated additional attacks 3 stages hit ?INTELLIGENT ARMOR Weak spot attack Misaki’s Jester’s Wildcards flipped the armor’s resistance against lightning-attribute attacks to its weakness. No one knew for sure if it would work, but if anyone could do it, it was Misaki. And I’d bet the world Igarashi felt the same. “Haaaah!” ♦Current Status♦ > SERAPHINA activated SHIELD SLAM Hit ?INTELLIGENT ARMOR ?INTELLIGENT ARMOR was Stunned Combined attack stage 3 > MELISSA activated LOP OFF Hit ?INTELLIGENT ARMOR Combined attack stage 4 > KOTTO’S GAUNTLETS activated Added additional DOUBLE DOWN attack > SUZUNA activated FORBIDDEN ARROW Hit ?INTELLIGENT ARMOR Combined attack stage 5 > Combined attack JOKER DARKNESS LIGHTNING SLAM FORBIDDEN LOP Critical hit Electrocuted state extended Partial destruction 104 support damage 36 additional cooperation damage Sparks flew from the armor as the onslaught rained down upon it, Melissa’s Lop Off cleaving off the suit’s shoulder plate. Nevertheless, the severed plate floated back into the air, joining the rest of the suit’s parts and rearranging themselves as if an actual person were wearing them. ♦Current Status♦ > ?INTELLIGENT ARMOR activated ARMORED MAIDEN The suit of armor drew out the last ounce of its strength, a move through which the sentient armament materialized into a corporeal form to fight as a real person would. However, countless red gashes had cleaved into the armor’s plates, vestiges of the Scarlet Trails that Elitia’s slashes had inflicted upon it. They scratched and scrawled all over the surface like an intricate engraving. Furthermore, the armor had no magic left to activate Star Gazer or Avoid Zero anymore. As if to prove that point, the armor—no, the specter of a lady knight now clad in the suit of armor—stood perfectly still. “…Would you please…lend us…lend Ariadne your strength?” I pleaded. “……” I hopped off Alphecca with Theresia, who had her sword drawn and ready. Elitia also stayed on her guard. The armored maiden said nothing; our silent confrontation continued. Eventually, though, the armor dropped one knee to the ground like a proper knight would. “At long last, I have been defeated. I have found my true master… I thank you.” ♦Current Status♦ > Defeated 1 ?INTELLIGENT ARMOR The armor lost all will to fight. As its hostility disappeared, so did the effects of Elitia’s Scarlet Trails. Theresia and Elitia sheathed their swords. Still, the armor hung her head. “…Raise your head, please. Now that you’ve agreed to help, you’re one of us.” The armored maiden did as I instructed, then brought her hand to her chest—to a depression made for a Sacred Operation Crystal. After checking with the rest of my party, I inserted the Merak Crystal into the opening. The moment it clicked in, every line etched into the suit of armor began emitting a light blue glow. ♦Current Status♦ > ARIHITO is now owner of ?INTELLIGENT ARMOR > ?INTELLIGENT ARMOR’s first Inscription is revealed to be FYLGJA “I am Fylgja, armor to our Hidden God, protector of her devotee.” “…I do wish I had the chance to test my prowess against Fylgja’s. Nevertheless, no meaning would come from internal conflict between armaments, I suppose,” Murakumo—who knows when she’d appeared—muttered. I had the distinct feeling Fylgja would have been out of commission for a good while had Murakumo joined the attack. With this armament, we’d found yet another heartening addition to the forces with which we’d face the Simian Lord. I was worried about Theresia moving too much with her wounds, but she walked up to me as if she had something to say. “Great job out there, Theresia.” “……” Not knowing if this was, in fact, what she wanted, I petted her head—or rather, her mask, which felt indescribably smooth. “There you go again, Arihitooo, doting ooonly on Theresia… Just kidding, we promised not to harp on that. Be sure you remember to show Murakumo and the other armament ladies that same lovin’ every once in a while too, okayyy?” “While I may appear human, my body is composed of naught but magic. Such tokens would have no meaning.” “I object. All tokens from our Hidden God’s devotee hold meaning.” “We feel similarly honored simply carrying our devotees. However, a touch upon our human form would register as a touch and nothing more.” As we all watched Murakumo, Fylgja, and Alphecca talk among themselves, I could sense my party members breathe a collective sigh of relief. Would Ariadne be happy to have another ally, too? I turned inward to ask but received no response. And yet I knew with every fiber of my being that she was looking down on us.