Chapter 34: Always prepare for failure

In the end, I suppose, as expected, looking at the sky, I can say that without my active intervention, the timeline somehow followed the original one. As of now, the ritual is probably complete. Still, even though I know what is going to happen, I feel like I can't calm down.

Which, to be fair, going into what is basically torture will give you some doubt. While I've kind of gotten used to the feeling, that doesn't mean I'll be okay to keep doing it.

However, when I think about it, that basically contradicts what I've done recently. Besides, even Cagliostro and Prelati are eager to punch Adam in the face. So, after I give the OK sign, they start preparing their bullets that can basically kill Adam.

Well, I don't think that will work because Adam is a rather special construct. After all, if he could be killed that easily, Fine wouldn't have a hard time killing him. Though, I think Fine doesn't really care if he survives, since she has some plan to execute at that time.

Now that I think about it, if Fine fights against Adam, I wonder who will win?

While Adam technically lived longer than Fine, Fine is the one who developed many things and managed to defeat Adam once.

Fine is rather laid-back now compared to before, but she still possesses some artifacts. Adam also has artifacts and may even wield a divine power, albeit a small portion that became bound to him due to his experiment a while ago.

Lost in thought, I found myself hovering in the air in my Symphogear form, while the other two grew increasingly impatient.

"Mei, you already know his plan, so why are you letting Saint-Germain follow it? Are you betraying us?"

"Not really, Cagliostro, but you see, Adam is both a coward and a prideful person. He won't show himself until he's sure the plan is working."

Then, Saint-Germain, who was basically naked, began to shine brightly as the leyline activated. I subtly sent a small shield to her back, careful not to touch her lest she notice the sensation.

I slowly glanced at the leyline that appeared, shining a bright green as it converged. I waited a moment for both Genjuro and his brother to activate their plan, which happened just as I was thinking of it. Now was the time for Hibiki and Kirika to appear, but to my surprise, Kanade and Serena appeared with them as well.

They are the extras, and they barely fight due to the linker's limitations. Even though Fine and Carol improved it, there's still a timer and a limit to how long they can transform. That's why, after helping me finish their Ragna-Mail, they proceeded to drag Elfnein to retrieve the file from that mad scientist hero wannabe.

Now that I think about it, we're approaching the final season of the anime. Even though there have been some changes to the overall timeline because of my actions, I should prepare to get 'kidnapped' by Fudo. Though that can wait until he manages to steal that relic from the American laboratory, which is one of the labs Fine collaborates with.

Enough about that. Adam finally appeared, which made Cagliostro and Prelati's anger reach its maximum, but I shook my head.

We still needed to allow Saint-Germain to witness Adam's true nature, which would be revealed in this fight.

With that thought, I threw another shield, this time targeting Tiki. She was being used as a gate to gather divine power from the stars, as the leylines were suppressed by the keystone. However, I could see that the feedback was strong enough for me to essentially create a body. While Morgan was preoccupied and hadn't noticed, I planned to get her a body so she could live like a human.

Even though she was a replica of the original Morgan, she still retained her memories, so calling her by that name didn't feel wrong, though it did give me a complicated feeling.

As I pondered this, Adam appeared and began to fight Hibiki, Kirika, and Saint-Germain, just as in the original story. Surprisingly, Kanade and Serena joined halfway through their fight, which led to Adam and Tiki being cornered.

I thought things would diverge from the original, but Adam managed to survive despite being ganged up on. It was Tiki who was forced to fire a beam, which was fortunately blocked by Serena, Kirika, and Kanade.

This made me wonder if it was because of her love, which was very ironic. Thanks to the trio who blocked the beam, they managed without Kirika using her swan song to amplify her gear, although they were not in good condition. This was much preferred to the original, where Kirika couldn't participate in the battle.

Because of Tiki's shot, Cagliostro and Prelati's patience reached its limit, so I let them go. But at the same time, I had already prepared for Tiki's defeat. If they managed to defeat her, even though she had already transformed, there was a chance the divine power would not appear.

In the end, even though Tiki managed to transform, even with Adam's help, being overwhelmed by the team was already a losing battle. Just as I anticipated, while Cagliostro, Prelati, and Saint-Germain battled Adam, the Symphogear girls simply bullied Tiki, who barely did any damage to them.

I just noticed that, thanks to my help, the team is getting stronger and stronger. I initially thought they would struggle to work together, especially considering how awful their teamwork was in Season 4 with the new pairings. I never imagined they would improve this much.

I started to feel pity for Tiki, and after her defeat, I thought it would be over. However, the light in the sky indicated that the divine power was still present, even if incomplete. I used the shield to gather it before it could be absorbed by Adam or attracted to Hibiki, who possesses Gungnir, one of the keys, and whose body was previously cured of sin by Miku's Shénshòujìng beam.

While there was a hiccup because the girls' power was much more potent than the original, I managed to secure the divine power, or so I thought. Then, an unbelievable pain surged through my entire body, as if I were being shredded to pieces. Before I knew it, I was standing in the dark.

Looking around, I found myself in a dark, empty place. To be fair, I had expected more, but as I stood there, I slowly looked down and noticed I was naked. More horrifying, however, was the realization that I wasn't in my male body, nor even my female body, but rather a complete stranger's.

I knew this because my female form was Morgan's body before she died, and her hair was blonde, whereas mine was now black. There was also a noticeable difference in chest size; though from a distance it might appear similar, my experience told me this body felt slightly less heavy compared to Morgan's.

Somehow, a sense of defeat washed over me, even though this was a stranger's body, not my own.

Eventually, I started walking and noticed a figure in the distance. As I ran toward her, I noticed something rather disturbing: unless I was mistaken, that figure was exactly the same as this body. The only difference was she was wearing a Symphogear, while I was naked.

Then, her gaze at me shifted to confusion. She slowly closed her eyes, seeming to understand something, which confused me. Before I could ask her, she dashed toward me. Luckily, she didn't use any boost, just a normal dash, allowing me to dodge to the side when she planned to attack.

"Wait, why are you attacking me?" I thought to myself.

Apparently, she didn't want to answer, as she continued her assault. Knowing this was probably some mental space, I had to try something.

"Custodire Welt Aegis Zizl!"

I transformed, and this time, there was no transformation sequence, which was a relief. But before I could bask in the feeling of finally transforming without the sequence, she had already thrown her sakura shield at me, which I deflected with a round shield.

She stared at me for a moment before taking a deep breath. Suddenly, music began to play. I felt like I knew this music, but it was the tone she sang in that caught my attention.

'DEEP INSIDE Dare no tame?'

"Wait a minute......."

'DEEP INSIDE Nani no tame?'

"this song......."

'Chikara motomete samayou'

Then, when she stopped singing but the music continued, I was sure this was "Wish in the Dark" by Hiroyuki Takami.

Her singing caused her stats to increase significantly, and mine increased as well due to the phonic gain. However, hers increased at an alarming rate, as I could barely deflect any of her strikes now.

Still, I wondered why her stare was so cold toward me. She got closer as we brawled again, though strangely, she wasn't using her shield.

'Yami no naka de'
'Uzuku shodō'

I dodged her punch but was thrown back by her kick.

'Hibiku kodou ENDLESS' 
'ENDLESS'

Her punches are getting harder, and this is just the beginning of the song, which bodes ill for me.

'Nandokuite imashi metemo'
'Sora wo Kyou mo ANSWERLESS'
ANSWERLESS

She then created a giant sakura shield, which she threw at me. I tried to dodge it, but it suddenly extended and hit me.

'So I just fight out'
'Maboroshi no yume wa samenai NIGHTMARE'

Man, that really took it out of me. It truly hurt. Is this how Hibiki and the others feel when facing me? But she doesn't even give me a moment to breathe.

'Nidoto kakoga kawaranai nara'

She suddenly stopped for a moment before her shield began to sprout black flames. She then dashed toward me, surfing on her shield.

'Asu ni aragau dake da!'
'Ah...'

I hurriedly made a giant shield, but her shield easily pierced it, striking me directly in the stomach. I fell down and vomited, though, weirdly enough, nothing came out.

'Tatoe mezasu saki ni...'
'Kanashimi igai nani mo nai to shitemo.'

Suddenly, black flames began burning everything around us. Weirdly enough, it felt as though it were just for show, as it wasn't hurting me.

'DEEP INSIDE Sono hitomi.'

I was admiring how cute this flame looked when it almost seemed to come alive, and I noticed it was starting to burn me, prompting me to jump out.

'DEEP INSIDE Sono kokoro.'

For now, I tried to run, using my surfing shield to buy myself some breathing room. But she was chasing me, using the same method, and her surfing shield made my stomach clench. I'm surprised I wasn't impaled by how sharp that shield was.

'Daremo shiranai shinjitsu ga aru.'

I thought this would give me some breathing room, even if not much, given the current situation. But then a chain suddenly caught me. When I looked closer, I saw it was made of many small shields, and I was pulled away the moment I noticed it.

'DEEP INSIDE Sora no hate.'

She proceeded to kick me as she pulled me over; what's more, she even copied a Kamen Rider kick, and it landed squarely in my stomach again.

'DEEP INSIDE Umi no soko.'

Did she have a grudge against my stomach? Seriously, even though I couldn't puke anything, it still hurt, you know? Somehow, I suddenly had a bad feeling when I looked at her.

'Hikari hitotsu mo mienai.'

I tried to dodge, but then a chain of shields locked me in place. The situation somehow reminded me of a certain blond-haired rich guy from a certain series who always binds his enemies when he realizes they're stronger than he anticipated.

'Yami ga hirogaru PANORAMA.'

Somehow, this feels fleeting as she starts to jump high, giving me a sense of nostalgia since I can guess what's coming next. Suddenly, a large shield gathers around her before shaping itself like a drill, which she kicks toward me.

I'm hit with a powerful force, and then I notice the song has ended. But then I get caught in an explosion, which reminds me of every Tokusatsu villain whenever they're defeated. This situation is the same, but before I can think any further, I black out.