The Jave reacted swiftly to these new reinforcements, and the deaths of their fellows at the hands of their magic.
Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
The Queens screamed, firing bullets wildly. They approached the embracing humans at terrifying speeds, and by the time the girl turned towards them it was too late to dodge. Even if she avoided instant death, the wounds would certainly be fatal, and they could have their way with her, draining her magic until she died.
“Hmph.” The girl just laughed, wearing an indomitable grin tinged with disgust.
Before the Jave bullets hit home, they were deflected by a black membrane.
Huh? thought the Queens. What the—?! No, we know what that is. That barrier is the final magic from the twilight of our technology. The same magic that was on the black egg that “doll” came on. How are they…?
No. It didn’t matter. They’d find out once they ate them and stole their memories. They multiplied rapidly in such a short period of time. A top-class meal had been born quite recently and then the next a few days after that! They would have no lack of food. No need to let this one go. If they crossed to the other side, there would be more humans than they could ever consume. They’d start by eating these two, along with the doll.
Yes, they thought. Kill them, kill them, kill the humans. The humans used us to protect them from disaster, turned our fathers and mothers and sisters and brothers and sons and daughters into beasts! Not one of them should be left alive. Consume all the humans in all ages and worlds, in the past, present, and future, make them regret what they’ve done.
Every Jave in the solar system screamed together at the two humans in the skies over the Capital.
Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!
Their war cry terrified all humans, without exception. But these two hovered in the skies, unflinching. The Jave instinctively understood that these humans could very well be their natural predators.
The Jave fired. Suzuka Hanabi and the Kiryu, connected by a magic line, deployed their Heavy Magic Field and watched as it deflected hundreds of bullets. “Thank you, Kiryu,” Hanabi said, looking up. She seemed awfully calm.
It was strange. Despite their cries, she didn’t feel at all afraid. She wondered if the fear was numbing her emotions, but she had plenty of those urging her to fight, so that didn’t explain it. The Witch Bubble and Heavy Magic Field were certainly dampening the soundwaves, but she suspected the biggest factor was the boy holding her hand. “Strange,” she told him. “When I’m with you, I’m not scared of anything.”
“I feel the same way, Senpai.”
“You do?”
“I do.”
The Jave weren’t moving. Were they working on some scheme?
Then a familiar Guide popped up right next to Kuon, surprising him. “Here we are in enemy territory, and you two can’t stop flirting.”
“En!”
“Nice to see you, too, Kuon-sama. Sorry we’re late. I thought the only thing broken was your internal clock, but that arm…no, first let us carve our way out of this mess.”
“Yeah… Wait, aren’t you smaller than usual?”
He was right. En was usually the size of his palm, but now she was only half that big. “This is merely a satellite. My primary instance is still linked to Kaede-sama back on Earth. This one is linked to Hanabi-sama.”
“Then we should call you En-chibi.”
“Your flair for names remains the dumbest, Kuon-sama,” En laughed. “No backup is coming. The Kiryu’s output could only manage a Gate large enough for Hanabi-sama. For the moment, it’s still open, and I’m linked to my main instance, but it will collapse momentarily.”
“The Nürburg couldn’t get the Black Hole Gate open, could it?” Hanabi asked.
“No, it couldn’t. Tooka is likely still unconscious. The disc-shaped enemy has multiple lights of life, and rapid extermination is a challenge. If we don’t wake up Tooka and open the black hole…”
“Hanabi-sama,” En said. “Head for the Nürburg. Assess the condition.”
“Roger that. What about Kuon-kun?”
“I’m ready any time, Hanabi-senpai!”
“Okay, then…” En said.
More bullets came at them. As they scattered off the Field, Hanabi merged with the Kiryu again, still holding Kuon’s hand. He connected the tail line, riding its back. Hanabi glared at the manta going into a wedge formation. “Lunatic Order, Fuji Squad! Double attackers, the Twin Stars, coming at you!” she yelled.
“Yeah!” Kuon yelled back, and Kiryu took flight.
Three Queens came at them from the fore while mantas swarmed on their right and left flanks. Kuon and Hanabi each took a breath.
“Shichisei Kenbu: Shijin Reppakuzan!”
“Twin Nova Launcher—fire!”
A red sword of light eliminated all three Queens, and the massive light beams fired by the twin dragon heads left not a single manta alive.
“Hanabi-sama! Nürburg below you on your right, on the surface, surrounded by enemies!” En cried.
The Kiryu pointed its head down. Over a dozen Queens and a swarm of manta were gathered around the Nürburg, and the two heroes lunged towards them without hesitation.
“Kuon-kun, time to try you-know-what out.”
“Got it, Hanabi-senpai!” Kuon held his Blade aloft, and Hanabi put the Kiryu’s engines at max revolutions. Their voices overlapped.
“Shichisei Kenbu!”
“Field at max!”
“Ryujin—Reppakuzan!”
The Kiryu became a dragon of red fire.
This technique was Hanabi’s idea. Ordinarily, Shijin Reppakuzan gathered magic heat and turned it into the shape of a sword. She suggested that instead of doing that, they use the heat directly. When Kuon said their frames wouldn’t hold up to it, Hanabi added to her idea. What if it was outside the Heavy Magic Field? And what if they also added the heat used by the High Nova Launcher?
The resulting Twin Fire Dragon plunged towards the Nürburg from 20,000 meters above. It was enveloped by a Witch Bubble with a Heavy Magic Field over it, and on top of that, Reppakuzan’s super destructive capabilities merged with the Nova Launcher’s magic heat and wrapped around the frame, forming a dragon of light which vaporized anything that came in contact with it. The sheer volume of heat was so intense that the Kiryu’s outline was imperceptible to the naked eye, as if the sun itself had plunged out of the heavens to destroy the enemy.
“Rahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!”
With a roar, their Kiryu slammed into the clustered enemies. The mantas trying to break through the Heavy Magic Field were blown away by the shock waves alone, never even managing to touch the real thing. Over half the gathered Queens were instantly turned to mist.
That was just the beginning. The Kiryu immediately swooped up back through their formation and turned to target the enemy again. After the third strike, the dragon finally did a tailspin above the Nürburg, releasing the light. By then, there was not a single living Jave around.
“Hah…hah…hah… You okay there, Hanabi-senpai?”
“Ha-hah…hah…! Yeah, of course, Kuon-kun…”
The intense magic output and aerial acrobatics had left both pairs of shoulders heaving.
“Nürburg contacted!” En yelled. “Damage sustained! Tooka-sama’s alive! Starting repairs and evaluation! The two of you protect it with your lives! Please! For the next thirty-three minutes, all our lives are in your hands!”
“Got it!” Kuon and Hanabi spoke as one while watching Jave gather from across the entire planet on their radar. The number of Queens alone probably numbered in the tens of thousands, and there were trillions of mantas. The disc Jave above maintained a sinister silence, but no matter how they looked at it, the two of them alone stood no chance of winning. Yet neither Kuon nor Hanabi were at all afraid.
Because Hanabi’s here.
Because Kuon’s here.
The Twin Star Heroes each took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“Come at us!”
It was the longest thirty minutes of their lives.