Chapter 397: Starfish-type Advanced-Class, and Six Simultaneous Strike.
(Note: another third-person view chapter. This one seems to be focused on Yae, although since it's basically third-person that doesn't show much.)
"When you look at it again, it's really huge-degozaru na…"
Yae couldn't help but comment on the figure of the starfish-type advanced-class, which is being shown on the monitor of Schwertleite.
It's an advanced-class that looks like a pentagram, but when you're looking at it from the side after it landed, it looks more like a kind of small mountain.
While slowly rotating its body, it's sending sand flying all over the place; it's apparently levitating off the ground a bit. Its dark golden body glittered as it reflected the sun.
"Now then, how should we deal with this."
"Just thinking about it isn't gonna do anything. Early bird gets the worm, get them before they get you! [Boost]!"
The crimson frame piloted by Elze, Gerhilde, rushed towards the starfish-type advanced-class in a straight line while using the vernier on its back to propel itself. As always, she moves quick.
"[Touki Release]! Finishing move! [Cannon Break]!"
Gerhilde's right fist, wrapped in Touki, impacted on one of the starfish-type's appendages.
Without pause, the pile bunker equipped on its right arm shot out with a bang, and broke the advanced-class' body further. Large cracks began showing on the advanced-class.
"Here's one more!"
Gerhilde took a stance before driving its left fist into the same location. And once again, the vicious pile bunker was unleashed on the same spot, and the large cracks grew even deeper.
With dark golden fragments peeling off, the tip of one of the starfish-type advanced-class' appendages broke off with a snap.
"Muu…"
However, as the broken-off tip began dissolving into a sludge, the broken section began regenerating, and was restored to its original form within moments.
"Guess the core isn't going to be conveniently located right there, huh."
While muttering that, Elze moved Gerhilde away from the advanced-class.
"But, I was able to grasp the locations of the cores with that regeneration, onee-chan."
A communication came in from the younger sister of the twins, Linze. Her Helmwige was observing the advanced-class in the sky while maintaining its flight form.
For both Phrases and variants, when they regenerate, the required magic power comes from their cores. Which means, if one traces back the flow of magic power during regeneration, they can get a decent estimate of where the cores are.
"Probably, there's one in the center, and five in each of its legs."
Six cores in total. Quite a large number even for an advanced-class.
"Six… And we have to destroy them at basically the same time, don't we?"
Inside the orange knight-looking Frame Gear, Siegrune, Hilda murmured.
"Linze, can we call Leen over and use [Brionac] on it?"
Giant Magic Cannon [Brionac]. A weapon that guarantees destruction with one hit, it fires a specially-modified drill bullet through enormous magic power and the magics [Spiral] and [Explosion].
Due to that, it can only be used by Linze and Leen, two individuals with large amounts of magic power, pouring all their reserves into it simultaneously… And even then, they can only fire one shot; in a sense, it's a very hard-to-handle weapon as well.
"It's not like we can't do that. However, we only have one shot with that, and if even one of its cores are left, we would've fired it for nothing… The risks are too large, I think?"
"Umumu, it's true that if we missed and Linze-dono as well as Leen-dono dropped out afterwards, that would be tough-degozaru na…"
"Everyone! In front!"
When Yae and the others looked back at the starfish-type advanced class when they heard Hilda's shout, its slow rotation had stopped before anyone of them had noticed.
Cracks showed on the five appendages, and leaving the central pentagon portion of the pentagram, the five triangular ends detached themselves. Each one of them was connected with the central portion by long and thin tentacles.
The front ends of the appendages connected to those tentacles reared up almost like a snake's neck.
And, particles of light began gathering in front of them.
"!? Evade-degozaru!"
Reacting to Yae's words, the Frame Gears scattered from that spot immediately.
From the tips of the detached appendage of the starfish-type, laser-like attacks—thinner than the particle beam cannons fired by the twin-headed dragon earlier—were fired.
A nauseating sizzling sound reached their ears, and when they looked at the places that were struck, they could see sand melting into a puddle.
"They're coming again!"
Elze yelled.
When they looked up, the other appendages of the starfish were extended towards them in a similar fashion. And once again, lasers were fired from their tips.
Five lasers sliced through the sky as they closed in on Yae and the others' Valkyrias.
"Lestia-style sword technique, Second · Wild Dance!"
Hilda's Siegrune, which jumped off the beach, wielded its sword and cut one of the extended tip of the starfish-type into pieces in an instant.
The tip, which was cut up before one could even blink, fell down in pieces onto the beach, where it raised black smoke and melted down into a sludge. Among them, a red core with a 2m diameter could also be found.
However, the appendage which lost its tip quickly began regenerating itself, and returned to its former appearance within moments.
The core was probably regenerated as well. They're back where they started at, basically.
Everyone temporarily took some distance from the starfish-type to escape from the lasers.
"Although we already knew it, destroying one end had no meaning, eh."
"Yeah, we have to destroy all of them at the same time, as expected."
"There's only four of us, you know?"
"Two more… Should we ask Yumina-dono, Luu-dono, or Leen-dono for help-degozaru ka?"
With two more people… Or at worst, with one more person, the five of them could hit the five cores in the appendages simultaneously, then before those regenerate, they would launch a coordinated attack on the central core; with that, it might be doable.
However, with the current situation, it's hard to pull Yumina, Luu or Leen off their support jobs for the knight orders.
"Two more people, eh. If so, shall we help out?"
""""Eh?""""
Everyone's voice overlapped as a sudden enquiry came out from nowhere.
Before any of them had noticed, two women were each standing on Yae's Schwertleite's and Hilda's Siegrune's shoulders.
One of them was holding a three-meter long giant crystal sword that definitely doesn't look like something a woman can hold up, and the other had a quiver on her back and a large, beautiful bow in her hands.
"Moroha aneue and Karina-dono!? Since when!?"
Yae opened her eyes wide in shock as she looked at her fiancé's older sister, standing on top of Schwertleite's shoulder.
"Well, I wasn't planning to fight at first, you know. But sitting still just makes me itchy. So I thought maybe I can get some leftovers at least, or something like that."
"I'm fine either way, to be honest. Just got invited by Moroha. Well, it'll at least let me waste some time."
The two of them spoke as if they're here to play. No, they actually are only here to play. At least, the two of them can say that easily.
"So the five of us including me would get the feet. And the central portion would be dealt with by Karina's arrow—"
"No no. It won't do for us to overstep our bounds as supports, you know. The final strike, let's see… Linze, you do it."
"Fue!? M-m-me-desu ka!?"
Linze raised a shrill voice due to the sudden nomination. Karina talked about the final strike like it's something easy to do, but if it misses, everything would be reset.
To the timid Linze, that might be a bit too tough a burden.
"It'll work out if you relax. You're someone who's been through quite a few tough spots as well, you know. You can do it. Show some good stuff to Touya, eh?"
"Ye, yes!"
Linze answered vigorously inside the skyborne Helmwige's cockpit.
"Alright, then the five of us, myself, Karina, Elze, Hilda and Yae will crush the cores inside that starfish's five feet together. And immediately after that, Linze would destroy the core in its center. Got it?"
While carrying the giant crystal sword on her shoulder, Moroha notified everyone of the plan. Hilda had a slight doubt about how she was able to hear Moroha's words so clearly even though she isn't speaking through the speakers installed in the cockpit; but since they're goddesses who have descended to this world in human form, she figured that it's not worth it to ponder about things like that, and threw that question out of her brain.
Moroha and Karina got off the shoulders of the Frame Gears, and landed onto the beach.
Karina took out two machetes from who-knows-where, and took a stance with one in each hand.
During that time, lasers were being continuously fired off from the appendages of the starfish in front, but Karina deflected all of them using the machetes in her hands.
Just what kind of skill must you possess to be able to do something like deflecting lasers; the four of them stared dumbfoundedly in silence from within their Frame Gears. They eventually decided that it's not worth it to ponder about things like that as well, and threw that question out of their brain.
"Alright. Then let's go. Everyone besides Linze is to spread out and destroy a core each within
aminute. Got it?"
"Got it."
"Acknowledged."
"Understood."
"Leave it to me!"
"Understood, desu."
"Well then, begin operation!"
Three Frame Gears and two goddesses dashed out on the beach.
The starfish feet, extending out from its center via tentacles, chased after each one of them with laser attacks. However, everyone managed to dodge, reflect, or cut through them. Well, there's only one person who cut through the lasers, but that's not an important point.
"Kokonoe Shinmei-ryuu Ougi: Shiden Issen!"
The first one to strike was Yae's Schwertleite. With sword slashes so fast that they're imperceptible to the untrained eye, she tore through one of the golden appendages of the starfish.
The moment Yae spotted the red core among the pieces of the foot, she instantly thrusted out her katana, and pierced through her target.
The core, producing a high-pitched *pakin*, broke apart. One down.
"[Boost]!"
The next one after Yae was Elze, piloting the crimson Gerhilde. Using the pile bunkers on both arms, she rained blows on the appendage which had been firing lasers her way.
First comes the punches clad in divinity, and targeting the places that became cracked from those, she drove in the pile bunkers. The figure of the golden appendage being slowly crushed into pieces could no longer be called a fight; it's more accurate to call it a demolition work, or rock excavation.
"Found you!"
From the broken pieces, the core rolled out. With a scoop-like motion, Elze's Gerhilde landed a beautiful uppercut on it, destroying the core. Two down.
"Hoi, hoi, hoi-tto."
While deflecting the consecutive lasers coming her way with the machetes in her hands, Karina ran about on the sand. Her instincts as the Hunting God, to never let a prey escape, had perfectly seen through every move made by the appendage reflected in her eyes.
As she made a light jump and arrived at the spot right before the appendage, she swung the machete in her hand once, and like splitting firewood, the appendage—together with the core inside it—was split in half. A plain and anticlimactic end, with nothing special that requires mention. Three down.
"Lestia-style sword technique, Fifth · Spiral!"
The orange knight piloted by Hilda, Siegrune, clashed with the appendage which thrusted itself at her straight from the front.
The crystal sword wielded by its right arm, with a spiral wind around it, broke apart the tip of the appendage almost like a drill-tipped lance.
The red core, being swept up by the spiralling winds, flew high up into the sky.
"Fu!"
Siegrune's sword flashed horizontally, and cleanly bisected the core which fell back down, pulled by gravity. Four down.
"Everyone else finished without problems, huh. Guess I'll finish this up as well."
The Sword God, Moroha, smiled while casually swinging her giant crystal sword—3m long and around 30-40cm wide—with one hand, and cutting apart the lasers that came her way.
And towards the approaching appendage, she made another casual swing of her sword. Even though there's still quite a bit of distance between the two, the shockwave produced by the sword slash easily cut apart the appendage.
The slash, which seemed like it cut apart the very space itself, also cleanly cut through the core. Five down.
Moroha, who had done that without moving a single step, looked up towards the hovering Helmwige.
"Now, let's get to the finale, shall we?"
A flow of magic power could be felt from the pentagon-like center of the starfish, which has lost its five legs. The final core is there. They need to hurry.
The regeneration had already begun. If the cores in the appendages are regenerated, everyone's hard work would be for naught. That cannot be allowed to happen.
"… Here, I come!"
Linze gripped the control stick in front of her strongly, and started descending towards the center of the starfish.
She concentrated all her attention on the illusionary sights for the revolver cannons, displayed on the monitor in front of her.
When the starfish's center lined up perfectly with the sights, Linze squeezed the triggers on the control sticks in her hands.
Together with a series of piercing firing sounds, crystal bullets were fired out quickly in succession.
The center of the starfish advanced-class had its shape gradually gouged out by the rain of bullets.
Eventually, within the dark golden wreckage, the last red core showed itself. The merciless rain of bullets from Helmwige landed upon it as well, and numerous cracks began showing on its surface.
However, the central core is more than four meters in diameter, and is rather hard to break. At this rate, the cores in its feet would complete their regeneration before that.
"I won't, let you!"
In the skies above the starfish's central portion, Linze had Helmwige transform back into its Frame Gear form.
Only the flight form has the ability to fly, and the Frame Gear form obviously could not. That led to the result of Helmwige falling straight down due to gravity. Which was exactly what Linze had aimed for.
"Yaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
Together with a yell of fighting spirit, Helmwige's falling heel drop landed squarely on the cracked central core.
It's a strike unleashed by the younger sister, copying moves from her martial artist older sister, whose training and combat sessions she had been watching closer than anyone.
The brilliant strike had definitely destroyed the last central core. The starfish advanced-class is no more.
The central body of the starfish advanced-class broke down all at once, and began melting down. Everyone left its immediate vicinity in order to not get caught in its death, and watched over it from afar.
"You did it, Linze! That was quite a good form back there!"
"I've certainly felt your bonds with Elze-dono with that-degozaru na. It was a splendid strike- degozatta."
"Ee. A beautiful hit filled with spirit. As expected."
"Is, that so? I was, sort of in a trance back there, so. I'm glad it worked…"
Linze smiled with embarrassment.
With this, the starfish-type advanced-class is down. After this… As Linze turned her eyes towards the shoreline while thinking that, the battle between the twin-headed dragon and Touya's Reginleiv was also approaching its end.