The Asterisk War, Vol. 8: Idol Showdown

by Yuu Miyazaki

  “Ah… I haven’t really put much thought into it,” he answered truthfully.

  Saya’s shoulders lifted with a chuckle. “Yeah, I thought so.”

  “What about you? Is there anything you want to do?”

  One of Saya’s reasons for coming to Asterisk had been to show off her father’s Luxes to the world, but she had already accomplished that.

  “…It isn’t really something I want to do,” she murmured. She fell silent for a moment, deep in thought, before continuing: “But I’ve come to a decision.”

  “A decision?”

  That’s pretty vague, Ayato thought.

  “Anyway, that won’t be until after tomorrow… Here, done!” Saya exclaimed as she stood up, her voice buoyant. Her work, it seemed, was finally complete.

  She took the Lux activator from the pedestal and, after checking it over one last time, activated it.

  “…! That’s…!” Ayato, his eyes round with astonishment, was at a loss for words.

  “…Heh-heh-heh.”

  Saya merely puffed out her chest in pride.

  CHAPTER 8

  BATTLE OF THE IDOLS

  “And here we are; the fifth round of the twenty-fourth Gryps is about to begin! Our first match features Seidoukan Academy’s Team Enfield, who have so far effortlessly defeated every opponent to come their way!”

  Ayato and the others entered the arena to Mico’s announcement and were all but bombarded by a surge of cheers that seemed to shake the very foundations of the complex. The enthusiasm seemed to reach new heights with every passing match.

  “And their opponents today are the world-famous rock band, Team Rusalka, who in their last match managed to completely turn the tables on Team Tristan!”

  The five girls emerged from the gate on the other side of the stage, smiling to the crowds. Their composure was so complete that it was hard to imagine they were about to take part in a match that would decide whether they continued into the next round or were eliminated from the tournament.

  As Shizuna gave commentary on both team’s members, they all continued down the stage, past their designated starting positions.

  “I’m going to apologize to you all in advance because we’re going to turn the odds around, just like we did last time!” Miluše declared with a grin, her guitar-like Orga Lux strung over her shoulder.

  “I’m afraid your last match may have led to a reappraisal of your skills, but the odds are still fifty-fifty,” Claudia replied cattily.

  “Hmm, right. Well anyway, we’re going to win!”

  “…I don’t think so,” Saya shot back. She stepped in front of Claudia and stared up at Miluše with a heated, piercing gaze.

  Miluše’s eyes opened wide as her gaze settled on the school crest pinned to her chest.

  “…And what’s more, Team Enfield has passed the role of team leader from Claudia Enfield, who has held it in every match thus far, to Saya Sasamiya.”

  “Heh, so you’re the leader today. This is going to be interesting.”

  “…I don’t have anything against you.” Saya’s voice was cool, even though her gaze burned. “But we’re going to win. Defeat isn’t an option.”

  “Hmph! Not for us, either!”

  For a long moment, Saya and Miluše met each other’s gazes with a force that seemed powerful enough to throw off sparks, until finally they each spun around at the exact same moment, returning to their starting positions.

  Team Enfield’s vanguard consisted of Ayato, Kirin, and Claudia, with Julis offering support behind them, and Saya, the team leader, in the rear.

  Team Rusalka, on the other hand, deployed a different kind of battle formation: Miluše and Tuulia, both wielding guitar Orga Luxes, were the vanguard; followed by Päivi, with her drum, Erato; Monica, with her bass, Melpomene; and finally, in the back, Mahulena, with her keyboard, Thalia.

  “It’s almost time! It looks like both teams are ready to go! Which one will take victory and proceed to the semifinals?!”

  Mico’s voice, so giddy that it seemed even she was unable to contain her excitement, echoed throughout the arena.

  “Gryps Round 5, Match 1—begin!”

  No sooner had the automated voice announced the beginning of the match than an overpoweringly heavy bass sound descended upon the stage—so strong that it drowned out all other noise.

  “—!” Ayato, who had been about to launch a preemptive attack of his own, sank to his knees.

  His body felt heavy, almost as if trapped in a pit of tar. He was weighted down—the very air around him seemingly having turned to lead.

  This… This is stronger that I was expecting…!

  He lifted his gaze toward Monica—or rather, toward her Orga Lux. That bass instrument, its activated form like a glowing ax, had an unsettlingly ominous appearance.

  Even more than the effect it was having on his body, that low-pitched sound was having a serious effect on his concentration. He had put himself into shiki at the beginning of the match, but it was quickly evaporating.

  Concentration was required to perform the Amagiri Shinmei style’s perception-expanding technique, not prana. However, Ayato, who had broken the seal that his sister had placed on him only incompletely, wasn’t able to increase his prana to a level at which it would be able to overcome the auditory assault.

  That meant also that he wouldn’t be able to use the Amagiri Shinmei style’s hidden techniques, for which being in the state of shiki was a necessity.

  “This is bad!”

  At that moment, Miluše and Tuulia released a crushing acoustic wave toward the vanguard. The air shook around them, and while they were all able to dodge the attack, the ground around them had been gouged out.

  The two girls were both using guitar Orga Luxes with the same kind of ability. However, while Miluše’s activated into a large sword-like form, Tuulia’s was shaped like a trident.

  “Sorry about this!” Miluše declared. “But we’re going all-out right from the get-go this time!”

  “Ha-ha! Enjoy the show!” Tuulia added.

  Their eyes seemed to be glowing with the same blue light that was being emitted from the urm-manadite of their Orga Luxes.

  Moreover, in the rear of their formation, Mahulena’s fingers danced over her keyboard, firing countless bullets of light toward Ayato and the others at incredible speed.

  “Burst into bloom—Livingston Daisy!”

  Julis launched a volley of burning chakrams through the air to intercept them.

  Her counterattack, however, seemed to lack momentum, and the flames of the chakrams burned weakly, until finally, to the sound of Päivi’s drums, they vanished altogether.

  It was an acoustic barrier, the ability possessed by her own Orga Lux. When Ayato looked carefully, he could make out a ripple around a yard wide distorting the air. It resembled the defensive barrier used by Ardy in the Phoenix, but unlike the autonomous puppet, Päivi seemed to be able to deploy multiple such barriers of varying sizes simultaneously. That probably meant, however, that they weren’t as strong.

  “Ugh…! I’m sorry about this, but I can’t focus my prana properly…!” Julis ground out as she defended herself with her Rect Lux. “My timing is off…!”

  There was little doubt that she would be having the most difficulty in their present situation. For a Strega, being unable to focus one’s prana could be fatal.

  “Got it! Let’s continue as planned!” Ayato replied as he twisted through the air to dodge a barrage of light-bullets, now setting his sights on Monica.

  Tuulia, however, launched a sideways attack at the very place where he was about to land.

  “Oh, no, you don’t!” she cried out.

  “Ugh…!”

  He managed to block it with the Ser Veresta, but it was an unexpectedly powerful blow.

  Moreover, given that she was using an Orga Lux—albeit one-fifth of one—the Ser Veresta was unable to burn through the blade of light projecting from her guitar.

&nb
sp; Tuulia launched into a chain of attacks, slicing down from above, advancing forward from in front, and whirling around with a spinning attack. Her swordsmanship was flowing and elegant, and unexpectedly stylish given her usual rough demeanor. She had clearly gone through considerable training.

  Even though Ayato was able defend himself against the three consecutive strikes, he couldn’t deny that her skills were close to his own.

  Which meant—

  “Ngh…!”

  He turned toward her for an instant—only to watch Kirin, blocking Miluše’s glowing blade with the Senbakiri, get knocked down.

  At that moment, Claudia closed in with the twin blades of the Pan-Dora, but Miluše swung her own Orga Lux around to repel her—before unleashing a forceful kick.

  “Oh dear, this is rather intense!” Claudia exclaimed as she jumped back to dodge it, but Miluše leaped after her.

  How is she managing to hold both Kirin and Claudia back all by herself…?!

  “Hey! Pay attention!”

  At the sound of that voice, Ayato felt a chill run down his spine.

  He spun back to Tuulia, only to see that she had already placed a finger on one of the strings of her guitar.

  Damn it…! I won’t be able to dodge this…!

  The acoustic wave that Tuulia unleashed had a wide radius—too wide for him to be able to leap to safety.

  However—

  “…Boom.”

  At that instant, a belt of six beams of light swept across the stage.

  “Wha—?!”

  One of those beams had been aimed squarely at the school crest on Tuulia’s chest—but just before it could strike her, she managed to guard against it.

  “Wh-what was that?!”

  “…That was close!”

  “How did she aim at our crests like that…?!”

  The flustered voices of Rusalka’s members murmured across the stage.

  If it had been able to eliminate even just one, that would have made the match so much more bearable, but it looked like that had been too much to hope for. It was, however, enough to give Ayato, Kirin, and Claudia an opening to rebuild their defenses.

  “Hey, what was that you just did…?” Miluše called out, she and the others having turned toward the far end of the stage.

  Standing there, strapped into an enormous Lux blaster complete with an oversized back unit, was Saya. It was the same weapon that she had used in the battle against Ardy and Rimcy in the semifinals of the Phoenix.

  It was clear, however, that it had since undergone several changes, perhaps the most noteworthy of which was the recoil-control vernier that had been added to the back unit.

  “…Type 41 Lux homing blaster, Waldenholt Mark II,” Saya murmured softly as she readied the six-muzzled weapon.

  In the team’s last strategy meeting several hours before the match, Claudia had told them, “Just to confirm, the Lyre-Poros’s most troublesome techniques are Monica’s weakening ability and Mahulena’s strengthening one. We’ll probably need to take out at least one of those two before we’ll even have a chance at victory.”

  Based on the recording of their performance in the fourth round, it seemed that Monica’s Lyre-Poros Melpomene had weakened Team Tristan, while Mahulena’s Lyre-Poros Thalia had strengthened Team Rusalka. The latter weapon seemed to have the ability to fire projectiles as well, but that paled in comparison to its support role.

  “As such, our primary targets must be these two. Monica is stronger than Mahulena when it comes to individual combat, but she’s also closer to the front of their formation. She will no doubt be the easier one to aim for. Mahulena might be weaker, but she’s always in the rearguard, focusing on support. Given Päivi’s defensive ability, any long-range attacks would be unlikely to reach her. That said, I do think we’ll be able to handle her.”

  Ayato, Julis, Saya, and Kirin each listened on in silence.

  “…Given these factors, I propose a two-stage strategy,” Claudia said, lifting two fingers. “You are essential to both of these, Miss Sasamiya. That’s part of the reason why we need you to be the team leader.”

  “…” Saya nodded, meeting her gaze head-on.

  “We need to plan on the assumption that, being a Strega, Julis won’t be able to provide her usual support due to Monica’s ability,” Claudia continued, turning to Julis. “As such, I’ve left you out of the strategy, leaving you free to attack whenever an opportunity arises. Of course, I hope that you’ll still provide us with as much help as you can, but the vanguard won’t be able to rely on you.”

  “…I can’t say I like it, but I suppose it makes sense,” Julis admitted, though she was clearly displeased.

  “I also intend to use the Pan-Dora’s precognition this time,” Claudia added, reaching down to the Lux holder at her waist. “Given that we still have two more matches to go, I won’t be able to rely on it too much, but like Miss Yatsuzaki said, there’s no point having it at all if we end up losing anyway. I would like to limit myself to no more than sixty seconds, however…”

  Claudia’s precognition stock was, at present, around three hundred and sixty seconds. The match against Team Lancelot would, she argued, require at least two hundred of those, and given that they had to consider the semifinals as well, it was understandable that she didn’t want to use any more than that.

  “Now then, allow me to explain the strategy,” she began in a low voice, glancing around at each of them.

  “A h-homing laser?!” Miluše exclaimed, pulling away defensively at the sight of Saya’s oversized Lux.

  Monica’s weakening ability was unable to extend to Luxes. As such, Saya was Team Enfield’s most important factor in this match.

  “It’s okay, it’s okay!” she said, trying to soothe her teammates. “We can deal with this!”

  “…Right. She might have good aim, but it isn’t all that powerful. I should be able to use my acoustic barrier to block it,” Päivi added.

  “And besides, with that huge thing on her back, her movements will be limited. We should use this as an opportunity,” Monica said.

  “Hmm… You’re right.” It was Miluše, it seemed, who most needed comforting.

  The division of roles among their team members was well thought-out, at least as far as Claudia could see, monitoring their movements as she held the Pan-Dora low.

  Monica and Päivi, both of whom seemed to put considerably more thought into their actions, were responsible for support, ensuring that Miluše and Tuulia, who had roles to take advantage of situations as they arose, didn’t fall into trouble.

  And Mahulena—

  “U-um, Tuulia, you rushed in too quickly! And Päivi, you’ve got a blind spot where you won’t be able to use your acoustic barrier—please come back!”

  Yes, she was the most troublesome one of them all.

  She wasn’t able to control the team, but she was the fastest when it came to finding fatal openings—and in closing them when they appeared.

  But Julis, too, was good at finding gaps.

  “I won’t let you!” she cried.

  “Uh-oh…!”

  The six swords of Julis’s Rect Lux swept past Päivi’s acoustic barrier, attacking Monica from behind.

  “A-argh! What’s— What’s this?!” Monica swung her glowing ax in an attempt to brush them off, but Julis’s aim was better.

  The remote blades of the Rect Lux circled around her, lunging forward at regular intervals.

  “Blossom—Gloriosa!” Julis cried out, and a magic circle began to unfold at Monica’s feet, six pillars of flame soaring upward like the claws of some hellish monster.

  “What?!” Monica stood stock-still, surrounded by those towering flames.

  Julis hadn’t demonstrated the shortened activation time of her Rect Lux during the preliminaries, so Monica, it seemed, hadn’t thought to defend against it. The flames began to close in on her.

  But before they could reach her, Päivi finally managed to summon up her acoustic
barrier, halting them just in time.

  “Th-that was too close!” Monica called out before trying to break loose of the flames, now surrounding her like a cage.

  Julis, however, knew better than to let her escape. If they could bring her down here, that would bring them one step closer to victory.

  “Monica!” Miluše cried out, leaping to her aid.

  Kirin, however, was one step faster. “No, you don’t!” she whispered under her breath, lunging out with her katana.

  Across the stage, Tuulia had similarly made to move to Monica’s defense, but Ayato was deftly holding her back.

  Which meant that their strategy for victory began now, Claudia decided. She dashed forward toward Monica, the Pan-Dora ready.

  “…I won’t let you.”

  Blocking her way stood Päivi, her large drum Orga Lux activated in front of her like a shield.

  “I’m terribly sorry—,” Claudia began saying with a smile, focusing her mind on the Pan-Dora.

  At that instant, her surroundings appeared drained of color, everything standing motionless in place.

  —First, she dodged Päivi’s attack by moving to the right. Mahulena then fired twelve light-bullets from behind Päivi—six of them reaching her if she continued toward Monica. She went back half a second. She dodged the attack by rolling. Even so, two hit her. She went back half a second. She leaped up to avoid it. One struck her foot. She concentrated her prana on defense. But Päivi took advantage of her lost balance to use her acoustic barrier to push her away. She went back one second. She used the Pan-Dora to deflect six of the bullets. It was impossible to deflect them all at full speed; two reached her. She went back half a second. She slowed down, deflecting them all. Next, she stepped sideward to dodge Päivi’s acoustic barrier. That didn’t work. She went back one second—

  After exhausting sixteen seconds of her stock, the world around her burst into motion.

  “—but you won’t be able to stop me.”

  She feinted to the left, rotating her body as she all but danced around Päivi’s attack, before swinging the twin blades of the Pan-Dora in separate arcs, repelling Mahulena’s projectiles. Next, she feinted again toward Päivi, taking advantage of her momentary confusion to slip past her acoustic barrier and within range of Monica, who had just managed to break out of Julis’s fiery cage.