Chapter 23: Training

I was underwater, trying the "air goggles" technique, and surprisingly, it worked. Though, in this beach, it's rather difficult, as I felt my body being moved by the waves. I was enjoying this vacatio—I mean, training—but still, even as I enjoyed the underwater view, the others enjoyed their relaxation time.

For example, Chris was enjoying the waves using a float ring, Kirika and Shirabe were making a sandcastle, Hibiki and Miku were playing in the water, and Tsubasa, Maria, Serena, and Kanade were taking a walk. As for me, even wearing this swimsuit felt indescribable since it looked like underwear, only with a different feel.

That's what I thought, so I wondered why I was now playing beach volleyball. What's more, I could see my enemies. Tsubasa wore a serious face, probably talking to Shinji, and surprisingly, Chris was hyped up as well. I glanced at the culprit, Kanade, who was enjoying the view. As for me, my partner was Maria, and she was serious as well.

It started with Kanade's idea, and she taunted Chris, which surprisingly worked. What's more, halfway through our match, they got even more invested. By the end of our match, I barely won. My body was performing at its peak because my synchro was higher, a fact I only knew because of Morgan.

Apparently, for me, a human relic fusion relies on relic synchro. If my synchro is low, my body, not transforming, can barely do any normal human stuff. So basically, I was forcing my body. But funnily enough, Morgan said that when I reach a certain threshold, I can use some of my relic abilities even when I'm not transformed, which is why I was being hunted, it seems. Though, in the end, Fine of that world sent me to the parallel world.

Still, even with my body now enhanced, I could barely keep up with Tsubasa and Maria, not including Kanade. But luckily, her partner was Serena, who isn't good at sports. So, in the end, Maria and I won the make-up tournament of our beach volleyball games. I could see the others already lying under the umbrella's shade in their chairs.

Then Hibiki asked who was hungry. They talked about how this is a military beach, so there are no tourists, which meant no restaurants or food shops nearby. This made them start to look serious, as they began to play rock, paper, scissors to determine who would go to the mini-market. Surprisingly, Elfnein joined them.

As for me, I already said I would go, mainly because this was a chance to meet Hibiki's father, as fate is truly a weird thing. Hibiki's father works nearby. Though, whether I can meet him is another matter. But well, funnily enough, the result was the same as in the anime, though the only difference was that Serena was also using scissors. As for Tsubasa, I wonder what gave her the idea that thumb and pointed finger is a cooler scissor. Though, it's kinda cute how she is trying to cover her shame.

Then Maria put dark glasses on Tsubasa, and I could see the same dialogue they used in the anime, which made me chuckle. Then I suddenly noticed someone putting the same glasses on me and saw it was Kanade.

"And don't you forget, you're still an idol, Mei."

"Gee, thanks, Kanade. So, what do you want?"

"Coca-Cola, of course."

While this is fine on its own, I can't help but pity Garie. At the beach, only Hibiki and Chris can transform freely. Maria can transform as well, but she's still unstable. Even though I feel like Kanade will transform no matter what, we still have to figure out what to buy.

First, I buy stamina items and the minerals Maria asked for, as well as some snack bars. I still need to be careful not to overeat, or I'll hear Shinji complain. Funnily enough, I see Kirika buying everything she wants while coercing Serena to do the same, while Shirabe just sighs and watches. As for Tsubasa, she's buying a watermelon.

As we walk back, I consider taking the same route we came, but Kirika wants to explore, so we take a different path. Funnily enough, I see a torii gate that's been destroyed by ice, which is clearly Garie's doing. That means they're already destroying shrines all across Japan, and Garie is probably at the beach.

I see explosions in the sky, which means Chris and Hibiki are facing the Alca-Noise, probably with Kanade as well. I don't know if Maria will join the fight since Elfnein is there, but Miku has her relic, so I probably don't need to worry. Still, I see a group of children and Hibiki's father watching the explosions.

Tsubasa runs to him and asks him to guide the children to safety, but he declines and runs off. To be honest, I can't really fault his actions, since in my previous life, I was kind of a coward as well. Though if I ran, I would do it after making the children run away first.

In the end, Tsubasa, Serena, and I guide the children to safety. As we walk back, we see the beach is already in chaos. We see Hibiki, Kanade, Maria, Chris, and Miku in their Ignite modules, which just tells me they already defeated Garie. I start to pity her because she's practically being bullied to death by a group of Ignite Module users, so I just clap my hands.

"What are you doing, Mei?"

"I just pity the girl who thought she could fight one-on-one with Maria but ended up being ganged up on by five girls using Ignite Modules."

"When you put it like that, I start to pity her as well."

Well, I know this is far from over, since Phara should be nearby, planning to use us to sneak around and enter our base before stealing Dr. Nas's research data. It's not like I know specifically what she's going to do, since the anime barely showed anything besides her sneaking around and Shinji catching her scent.

"I seriously thought this was over the moment Carol died."

"Not really, since she's still alive."

The moment I said that, the group gasped in surprise, except for the one I'd already told. But was it really that surprising for Elfnein as well, even though she should know that Carol can see through her eyes?

"Mei, you really need to explain everything."

Shinji wore a serious expression, and surprisingly, so did Kanade. But Tsubasa and Maria stood by my side.

"It's okay, Shinji. Let's just say everything is going well and fine, but if you disturb it, who knows what will happen unless you're prepared to shoulder the consequences?"

I glared at Shinji with all the hatred I could muster. But now that I noticed it, even Shinji was having a hard time breathing. Was it because of the synchro, I wondered? But then I slowly dismissed the thought as I glanced outside.

"This world still isn't ready to face those opponents. So, Shinji, while I know that you care about everyone, I care about them as well and will do anything to protect them."

"What do you mean by 'anything,' Mei?"

"Basically what I said, Shinji: anything, even if it meant sacrificing myself or even other people, if it's to protect them. And I'm prepared for the cost, since I will never lose somebody important to me ever again. And if the rest of you think my method is too wild, then prove it to me, since from what I see, you barely reach half of your potential, and even that still isn't enough."

After saying that, I left the room. I noticed Phara walking past me. Though I'm more surprised that I can sense her, even though she's supposed to be only wind in this form. But well, things already happened. Still, I wonder, if I have a philosopher's stone, can I use the Faust Robe and access the Amalgam form? That's a special form that only the original six of them will have in the future.

Though the reason is because of Saint-Germain. In the other timeline, they don't have Saint-Germain, who makes the philosopher's stone, so only the original six Symphogear users have them. But now that we have a total of ten (including me), I wonder if only three philosopher's stones are enough to give all of us the Amalgam form.

While in the original, Elfnein is far behind Fine in technology, that doesn't include alchemy. But with Fine here, there is a big chance that if both of them work together, they can make a philosopher's stone. But now the question stands: do I let Carol burn her memories and end up giving her body to Elfnein, or do I protect Elfnein?

This is a hard choice, since even if I save Carol, there is a chance that fate will try to guide it a bit away, since there is an important part where Carol's memories resurface, saving Elfnein in the process. So if I let Elfnein and Carol have their body, there is a big chance that Elfnein will die. So this is a dilemma for me.

The situation is already incredibly chaotic: Kanade is back, Serena is alive, and Miku possesses her relic. I mean, look at Garie; she was ganged up on by five people and killed, even though the mission was for the enemies to be defeated using the Ignite Module. I genuinely pity her.

And that's not even considering the end. All of this just makes things worse for the enemies. I don't think Saint-Germain stands a chance. The only one who might is Shem-Ha, the last boss Enki failed to defeat. Now that I think about it, the Custodians aren't just the two from the parallel world; some of them are still alive.

Anyway, I was on the beach watching the sunset. It was a good way to calm down; I felt like I was getting too heated earlier. Though, now that I think about it, I completely forgot to tell Hibiki that I met her dad.

"Mei."

I turned to see all of them chasing after me, which was surprising. I thought only a few would come, but Hibiki was in the lead, pumping her fist.

"We're going to get stronger, so please, don't sacrifice yourself. It only makes us sad."

"Like Hibiki said, Mei, please rely on us more. It's okay if you don't tell us everything, but at least tell us something so we can help."

"Yeah, bottling things up isn't good. Tsubasa does that sometimes."

"Kanade, not now. Just like Maria said, we might not be the most reliable right now, but we're going to try our best."

"Desu desu. Besides, thanks to you, I can understand Shirabe more now."

"Yeah, at least I can understand how idiotic this girl can be sometimes."

"That's mean, Shirabe!"

"Well, Hibiki sometimes just moves forward without looking, but she leads us well, so just leave it to her, and you'll be okay, Mei."

"Miku, I feel like you're poking me where it hurts."

"But it's the truth, right?"

"Yes..."

I slowly glanced at them as they started talking amongst themselves. I don't know if the girls in my previous life always talked like this, but well, at least it was something. I patted Hibiki on the shoulder.

"Earlier, I met your dad. I think he works nearby. So, what will you do, Hibiki?"

"You met Tachibana's dad, Mei? When?"

"You met him too, Tsubasa. Remember that guy in red who ran away when you asked him to help the children escape?"

"That man is Hibiki's dad?"

I slowly turned my back to them and looked at the sky. Now that I think about it, my father in my previous life was rather pathetic as well. Maybe that's why I sympathize with Hibiki so much, because I know how it feels to have a pathetic dad.

"Yeah, he is a rather pathetic guy, isn't he?"

I turned around to see the mood was heavy, but I just stared at Hibiki, who was flinching, before letting out a sigh.

"If you're still not prepared to meet him, then don't force yourself. It will only anger you. Besides, men always bottle up what they feel and rarely tell others, so it's useless unless you're the one they trust the most."

"Experience as a guy?"

"Yup, a lot of times. In fact, most guys become men when they toughen themselves to endure everything. But some, the small ones, end up crushed by it and lose themselves in the process. Let's just say I was one of them. Maybe that's why I haven't used my male form lately."

I glanced at them, and Hibiki slowly stared back at me with resolution, clenching her hand.

"Then I will face my father with all I've got."

"Even though it will hurt you?"

"Even though it will hurt me... as Mei, your face doesn't look so good right now."

"Well, maybe because I'm still haunted by my past. But still, you do you. Since Miku is here, you still have your emotional support, at least."

Saying that, I glanced at the sun, which had already set as night came and the cold wind started to blow.

"Good luck then, Hibiki."

I slowly said that as I just enjoyed the cold wind on my body while I heard Hibiki start to run, with Miku chasing after her.