Archangel of Savage Light

by Reki Kawahara

  The sound of impact nearly deafened him. Tiny cracks raced outward along the platinum surface, and Metatron howled soundlessly, its body writhing. The electricity, on the verge of being fired, discharged spontaneously and pierced the hollow body cavity, back and forth and then back to the other side again.

  “Errrrng…yaaah!” The battle cry was Kuroyukihime’s. Jumping high up into the air, she yelled, “Death By Piercing!!”

  The special attack shot out from her right hand to shatter one of Metatron’s legs. The other three—realizing perhaps that it was now or never—also launched an all-out assault with one attack after another. From the rear, lasers and fire arrows precision-sniped the torso, and they dug deeper down into the second level of the Enemy’s health gauge.

  Normally, this would be where he did a fist pump with a “Yeah!” but the strange sensation that filled his mind threatened to disappear, so Haruyuki instead readied himself for the next attack.

  He was maintaining a wide field of view, but it was different from being scattered. It was like he could now control with his own will all the focus that, up to that point, he’d only been able to pour into a single moment, a single instant. Accelerating full throttle was only good for those “now or never” moments. Until then, he would be quietly ready, watch the whole situation, and move smoothly.

  Having recovered from the damage, Metatron went into a normal attack with its legs and tail. As they evaded these blows, Kuroyukihime and the others darted in to counterattack. Once this offense/defense had gone on for about ten seconds, the Enemy yanked its upper body upward. Countless holes opened up on the head, directly before Haruyuki’s eyes.

  If Silver Crow’s whole body was showered by the spiral bullets at this close range, he wouldn’t be able to avoid immediate death. But unhurried, Haruyuki aimed for the moment when Metatron stopped moving and shot a right-hand strike forward, enhanced with Incarnate.

  He hit in the same place as the last time, and the cracks in the crown expanded. Spiral bullets sporadically launched from Enemy’s head as it roared in anguish, but they had neither number nor force, so Haruyuki was able to defend easily enough with his arms.

  The battle continued at a fixed pace, and Metatron’s health gauge was gradually but definitely decreasing. The second tier, then the third, disappeared, and once they’d dug into the fourth tier, the attack pattern increased, but Haruyuki continued to fulfill his chosen role without panicking. The crown was also gradually destroyed, and then about forty-five minutes after the start of the fight…

  The first thing to shatter was the platinum crown adorning Metatron’s head. Haruyuki’s hand strike completely pulverized one of the C-shaped rings, and instantly, the rest came apart and clattered separately to the ground.

  From the pattern thus far, Haruyuki had anticipated that this would be the beginning of the final wild rampage, but unexpectedly, the Enemy stopped moving completely. Kuroyukihime also seemed confused for a moment, but the order for a full-scale attack came flying soon enough. Chiyuri and Akira also took part, and light effects of all colors enveloped the massive body.

  Each time a large technique exploded, the fourth level of the gauge, now dyed red, was visibly carved away, until finally, sliced through from belly to back by Kuroyukihime’s Incarnate technique Vorpal Strike, the Legend-class Enemy Archangel Metatron collapsed with a howl.

  The white plates that made up its body slowly melted away, turning into particles of light from the ends. The spherical head broke apart, and light gushed out from inside.

  Noting a message about the addition of a large number of points scrolling across the left side of his vision, Haruyuki jumped down to the ground.

  “You did it, Crow!” Chiyuri came flying at him from behind and tousled his helmet.

  Here, his supply of concentration finally exhausted, Haruyuki very nearly slumped to the ground.

  “Whoopsy!” Chiyuri immediately reached to support him, lending him her shoulder to prop him up.

  “Sh-shanks,” he replied. When he lifted his head, he found the smiles—or rather just the sense of smiles, of course—on the helmets of Kuroyukihime, Takumu, Akira, Fuko, and Pard. They all started to say, “Good—” and then exchanged glances before ceding the right to speak to their commander.

  Clearing her throat, Kuroyukihime took the floor. “Good work, Crow. That was some excellent fighting. You stepped up another level.”

  “N-no, that’s…” He shrank into himself, and Chiyuri gave him a whack on the back.

  “Stand tall at a time like this, at least!”

  “G-got it. So don’t pound on my back.” He took a deep breath and stood up straight, still leaning on Chiyuri. He could see the pair in the rear guard through the gap between Kuroyukihime and Fuko. Utai, on top of Niko’s tank, was waving wildly.

  He went to raise his right hand in response, and then abruptly realized that there was something strange about the way Utai was waving. Less celebrating a victory, and more “watch out.” When he looked very closely, the headlights on the trailer were also flashing on and off. Wondering what was going on, Haruyuki casually turned his face toward the sky.

  Something curious floated soundlessly there. A white spindle that tapered to the top and bottom. A long, thin sash was wrapped diagonally around it, hiding the contents. The whole thing was about two meters long. The complicated patterns on the surface glittered beautifully in the evening sun.

  I’ve seen that somewhere— Haruyuki’s narrowed eyes flew wide open.

  It was Metatron’s horn. The protrusion that had an unknown use and stretched out from the round head still lingered in the sky, even after the annihilation of the Enemy.

  “Wh-what is the meaning of this…?” Even Kuroyukihime sounded dumbfounded, following Haruyuki’s gaze up toward the floating horn. “We defeated Metatron…”

  “I checked the points addition. We definitely defeated it.” Akira’s voice was also slightly more tense than usual.

  Then:

  Inside his mind came the mysterious voice he’d heard any number of times during the fight.

  What you all destroyed is nothing more than half my body.

  Fwsh. The sash covering the horn opened up. Though—it wasn’t a sash. It was long, supple wings. Four pairs.

  Emerging from within was a girl, body wrapped in beautiful armor and garb. The whole of her was a pure-white, not a single blemish to be seen. Her hair, her skin, her clothes, they were all matte-white like snow; and half of her was colored orange like the evening sun, the other half the purple of dusk. Even though her eyes were closed, the beautiful girl was otherworldly. Giving off no sense of a life force at all, but not a simple object either, she had a bizarre presence.

  Slowly, supplely, both arms were spread out. Lids edged with white eyelashes cracked open the merest hint, and golden eyes took in the seven people on the ground.

  An almost violent pressure slammed into him, and Haruyuki’s knees nearly gave way. He desperately braced himself, but he couldn’t stop his trembling legs. Chiyuri shrieked slightly in her throat, and Kuroyukihime and the others were entirely stiff. This pressure-like aura was without a doubt approaching the territory of a Legend-class Enemy—no, even a Super-class Enemy. In other words—

  This girl herself was the true form of Archangel Metatron.

  In his mind, which threatened to shut down in the extreme shock and shivering fear, Haruyuki struggled to understand. Things were clearly not lining up. The voice that had given Haruyuki advice any number of times in the middle of the fight with the massive Metatron, its owner was Metatron’s main body. What did that mean? Wasn’t it basically that this female-shaped Enemy had told Haruyuki her own weak point and made him defeat her? His doubts only increased his fear. “H…how…?”

  And then he heard the voice again.

  Little bird. You succeeded in destroying the disgusting yoke that bound me. It is my destiny to burn up soldiers, but I shall turn a blind eye this time. Although, if you all wi
sh to fight, then that is something else.

  “W-w-we…don’t wish to!” Haruyuki shouted in a trance.

  The snowy-white archangel closed her eyelids once more and nodded placidly.

  Well then, after a stroll through the lower world, I shall return to my Castle. Let us meet again someday, little ones.

  The four wings wrapped one after another around her body, and Metatron returned to her spindle shape, her cocoon, before suddenly becoming a pillar of white flames and disappearing as though she had been completely burned up.

  When the pressure that very nearly crushed him weakened and finally disappeared, Haruyuki staggered and crumpled to the ground. This time, Chiyuri did not offer support, but plopped down with him. It seemed that the threat had passed, but he was still left not understanding anything. He cocked his head from side to side.

  “…So then, is it something like this…?” Takumu broke the short silence, his eyes still on the sky. After this preamble, he continued, although he didn’t sound too confident, “The reason Metatron was guarding Midtown Tower was because someone—probably a member of the Acceleration Research Society—tamed her, but she was against it. And then the crown on Metatron’s head was what that girl called a yoke—in other words, some kind of tool or something for taming, and when Crow broke it, she could be free.”

  “Oh…Ohhh, I get it!” Haruyuki cried out, still sitting on ground. “Now that you mention it, just the crown wasn’t white. It was silver.”

  This also explained why Metatron’s main body had ordered Haruyuki to aim for the crown with telepathy or whatever. If that was it, then you should’ve said so right from the start! he unconsciously called toward the sky, but of course, there was no response.

  Kuroyukihime also nodded as though Takumu’s explanation made sense to her and looked at Fuko next to her. “At any rate, Raker, Curren, when we fought Metatron in the Contrary Cathedral, there was no main body like that, right?”

  “There was not. Which means that what we thought we defeated was…”

  “Only Metatron’s lower half.”

  Chiyuri, still slumped on the ground next to Haruyuki, murmured, “So then, if we had defeated the massive part before Crow broke the tame crown…then, next we would’ve had to fight that girl?”

  “Mm. It’s possible…”

  The members of the Black Legion sank into silence, while Pard looked over at Haruyuki and said, “GJ.”

  At this, he felt reassured that the battle was truly over and let out a deep breath. He hauled himself to his feet and lent Chiyuri a hand before turning his eyes toward Niko and Utai, who were on standby fifty meters away. The main guns of the trailer were turned in their direction, and Utai also had her longbow at the ready.

  “Rain! Mei!” He waved and shouted loudly. “It’s okay now! Please come over here!”

  “You gotta say something sooner!” Niko’s yell, amplified by the speaker, reached them with an assist from the wind, and he shrank into himself at the very reasonable nature of her request.

  Utai leapt to the ground from the roof, and the weaponized trailer rumbled as it disassembled and melted into the air, disappearing. A small avatar dropped down from the cockpit area and stretched long and hard. The two red types clasped hands tightly before heading over to the others. Unsurprisingly, they looked exhausted; their footsteps were a little unstable, but linked by their hands, they continued to walk, supporting each other. Haruyuki felt something warm spread out in his heart at the sight.

  When they were moving on the Castle for the mission to rescue Aqua Current, Utai had asked Haruyuki, Do you remember, C? The question was in reference to what Haruyuki had said to her when they were trapped inside the Castle. I have a friend I’d like to introduce you to one day. That friend was the very Niko walking alongside Utai at that moment.

  There didn’t seem to be any need for it now, but he would introduce them properly once the mission was entirely over. And Hoo in the rear courtyard, too. Niko would definitely like that. And then they could all go check out the student council’s show together…

  Haruyuki watched over the girls, these thoughts running through his mind, while ahead of him, Utai and Niko stepped into the long shadow of Midtown Tower stretching across the grassy field.

  Sheenk.

  Something flashed. On the roof of a low building far to the rear of the girls walking side by side. Not a reflection of the evening sun. A vivid-purple light, almost garish.

  I’ve seen that light before. That was the only thought he had time for.

  In the next instant, four beams of light soundlessly pierced the chest of Ardor Maiden. Her hand pulled free of Niko’s, and the small shrine maiden somersaulted forward and collapsed, while Niko stretched out her right hand again in an instinctive motion.

  But that hand didn’t get very far.

  Two jet-black panels sprang up from the shadow spreading out at her feet and clapped around Niko. Orange sparks shot off the entire body of the small avatar.

  “Ah…Aaaaaah!!” Here, finally, a shout that was more like a scream gushed out of his throat.

  Kuroyukihime and the others, getting ready to start the next meeting, whirled around and saw the situation in the distance.

  The very first to react was Blood Leopard. She had no sooner howled in animalistic rage than she was leaping forward with all her might. She activated Beast Mode in midair, and when the crimson leopard touched down on the grass, she raced toward the Red King at a tremendous speed.

  But the purple laser fired once more in the distance and plunged into the ground at Leopard’s feet. The cat avatar was forced to leap from side to side to avoid the beams of light that came this time, one at a time, with a built-in delay. During that time, the jet-black panels pinning Niko steadily pushed closer together. The Red King appeared to be fighting back as hard as she could, but she couldn’t win out against the pressure, perhaps due to her exhaustion.

  “Run!” Kuroyukihime shouted, and they all kicked at the ground at the same time.

  On his third step, Haruyuki jumped, spread his wings, and accelerated all at once. Forty meters until the imprisoned Niko…Thirty…

  But then the gap between the two panels finally closed. There was no death effect. Niko was being held prisoner in the panels. The matte-black rectangular solids, reflecting absolutely no light, began to sink once more into the shadow reaching across the surface of the earth.

  “Black…Viiiiiiise!!” Flying at top speed, Haruyuki yelled the name of his hated enemy.

  There was no mistake. Those black panels were the transformed figure of the self-proclaimed vice president of the Acceleration Research Society, Black Vise. And the one firing the purple laser was the Quad Eyes Analyst, Argon Array.

  He wouldn’t let them. He totally was not going to let them abduct Niko. Gritting his teeth so hard they almost shattered, Haruyuki flew.

  On the building in the distance, the purple light flashed again. Haruyuki caught the attacking laser with the light-guiding rod of his left arm and reflected it. Then he brandished his right hand.

  Twenty meters ahead of him, the rectangular body had sunk more than 70 percent into the shadow.

  “Laser…Lance!!”

  The long lance of silver light that shot forward dug deeply into the side of the black panel. But its descent didn’t stop.

  Plrp. Leaving a black ripple behind, the panel sank into the shadow at the exact moment Haruyuki was thrusting his right hand into that very spot. Propelled by all the momentum from his flight, his right hand pushed into the earth nearly to his elbow. However, his fingertips touched nothing.

  “Graaar!!” Catching up with him, Leopard dug into the earth with her claws, roaring. But all that she found was virtual soil; the black panels did not come out.

  Black Vise had the ability to move freely within shadows. Once he sank into them, finding him from outside was…

  —No, there’s still time!!

  Haruyuki yanked his hand out of the earth a
nd stood. He helped Utai up from where she landed, right next to the spot where Niko disappeared, and handed her to Fuko.

  He wouldn’t give up. He absolutely would not give up. He took a deep breath and tried to somehow take back control of his thoughts burning too hot with rage.

  “Pard, please chase down Argon! Someone, leave through the nearest portal and pull Niko’s cable!” Giving these instructions in a single breath, Haruyuki kicked at the ground again. He rapidly ascended to an altitude of thirty meters and scanned the surroundings.

  The buildings of the Twilight stage were mostly pillar, so there were plenty of gaps and openings. The shadows that were Black Vise’s special roadways had to be cut off somewhere. And Vise would be heading not toward the base of Midtown Tower, but the edge. Because the tower was an independent building, and the first floor wasn’t in contact with the shadow of any other building.

  Chasing the tower’s shadow with his eyes, the leading edge jutted out of the park and fused with the shadow of a building somewhere around where Argon was. Vise would appear just once, somewhere up there. Haruyuki couldn’t miss that moment.

  He needed to open up his field of view—focus not on one point, but on the whole. The number of buildings was vast, and the paths of the shadows were linked in complicated ways, but he had to look at them all at the same time.

  Leopard was running north in the park, chasing after Argon Array. Beyond that, in a narrow alleyway a little ways from the park, a purple reflection flashed. That was probably Argon. If Vise was joining up with her…Farther past that. Right around the place where a cluster of temples cut across…

  Then Haruyuki saw it. From a shadow stretching out into the center of a large intersection, a jet-black rectangular body sliding upward.

  Niko!!

  I promised! I said I’ll protect you! That I’d come flying if you were ever in a jam!!

  He turned the emotions that exploded in the center of his avatar into energy. He gathered up every image of light in the wings on his back and shouted, “Light Speed!!” A silver overlay jetted from his wings, and his duel avatar flew furiously.