Sky Striker Princess, but the swan song of Valkyrie.

Subsequently, as the light cannon was injected into one of the portals, the other portal also unleashed a light cannon of equal power, which directly struck Finney's body, which was like a live target, and he was clearly severely injured.

"A great opportunity!"

Seizing the opportunity presented by Finney's injury, the three musicians immediately moved closer to Finney, seemingly intending to deliver a fatal blow.

However, at that very moment, just as the three of them were rapidly approaching Finni, Finni, who had appeared to be severely injured by his own attack, suddenly got up and launched a full-scale attack on the musicians who were flying rapidly through the sky and unable to turn around.

"How naive! I don't believe Lingyi would reveal such a flaw; she's just playing along!"

Facing the tri-colored light flying towards her, Finney laughed and launched her pre-prepared attack. At this distance, she was confident that she could severely damage these toys.

Just as Finney had predicted, under such a covert and sudden attack, the annoying musicians in the sky, who were like flies, really became headless flies, and their flight paths became disordered.

But the next moment, three more hexagonal portals opened around them, and the surrounding artillery fire seemed to be helping them escape as well.

"In that case, I'll add another bet, the Staff of Solomon!"

After observing and confirming that this was the enemy's full firepower, Finney confidently took out the Staff of Solomon, and countless noises rushed towards the three musicians in the sky, while the main cannon charged up again.

[Alright, if I act like this, she should make her move too. Pretend to use all your trump cards; right now, I'm at my most vulnerable.]

Will you take action at this time, Zero?

However, despite his outward confidence, Finney did not let down his guard at this moment.

She was well aware that as long as Lingyi had not appeared, the outcome of this battle was uncertain, and she would never reveal any weakness before then.

[Where will you attack from? Will you launch a surprise attack through a spatial portal, or will you use alchemy to become invisible and ambush me? No matter what you do, I will dodge, block your attack, and counterattack.]

As Finney thought this to herself, her attention was completely focused on her surroundings, so much so that she didn't notice anything.

"Now's the time, Tachibana, it's up to you!" [Azure Flash Annihilation]

The sword transformed into its broad form, the culmination of a lifetime of training. Amidst a hail of bullets, Kazekage unleashed a powerful sword aura, instantly clearing away the surrounding noise and attacks.

"And then, it's me!"

Following closely behind was Chris, who had already gathered her power. Her magic bow, firing at maximum firepower, destroyed Phine's already tattered shell.

"What!?"

Only then did Finney notice that the three people who should have been struggling to defend themselves against his attacks had somehow gotten close to him.

"It's my turn to do it last!"

Having gathered its power beforehand, the orange-yellow wings unleashed their force, and arriving before Finnie was the most powerful charge, the fusion of Gungnir, Tachibana Hibiki's Miracle Strike.

"It's just a toy!"

In a moment of panic, Finney channeled his power into his shield, and the full force of the purple shield almost deflected Tachibana Hibiki's attack.

However, this unexpected attack ultimately disrupted her attention, making it impossible for her to concentrate.

"You were a couple of steps too slow."

A familiar voice suddenly rang in her ears. Turning around, Finney saw the voice behind her.

In the first second, the yellow-white aircraft broke out of stealth mode; in the second second, a combat blade machine large enough for one person to pass through opened out of thin air; in the third second, a crimson blade with flames appeared from within the light screen.

炽-

The immense impact and slashing force reached Finney's shoulder, completely severing the arm that was holding Durandal from her.

Then, amidst the chaos, three portals opened simultaneously, and Finney's arm, carrying Durandal, Zero, who had just unleashed her newfound power, and Tachibana Hibiki, who was attacking Finney, vanished from this space.

Oh no!

Finney immediately realized that the weapon capable of killing her now had been successfully taken by Zero.

She now fully understood what awaited her, and all she could do was pray that something unexpected might happen to Lingyi's plan.

Ah, ah ah-

It seemed that the prayers had really worked. In mid-air, after acquiring Durandal, Tachibana Hibiki appeared to be unable to control herself and was about to go berserk.

"Tachibana?!" "Idiot, damn it, don't mess things up at a crucial moment like this!"

Having completed their mission, Kazanari Tsubasa and Chris immediately stepped forward to try and awaken Tachibana Hibiki's consciousness.

"How could you possibly destroy a complete set of relics so easily!"

Realizing that this might be his only chance in this life, Finney exerted all his strength to try to stop Tachibana Hibiki's actions in advance.

..

Darkness, boundless darkness—this was the only thing Tachibana Hibiki could sense after coming into contact with Durandal.

Did I fail? Did I let down Rei-chan, Chris-chan, and Tsubasa-san?

In the suffocating darkness, terrible thoughts surged wildly in Tachibana Hibiki's mind like seaweed.

In the end, I still couldn't do anything. Maybe I shouldn't continue living; it shouldn't be me who continues to live.

The darkness in her heart was about to surge from the black tide like a rein, and Tachibana Hibiki felt that she was about to sink into it.

Stop feeling sorry for yourself; it's not time for that yet.

But before Tachibana Hibiki could wander in the darkness for long, she accepted the familiar voice.

【Zero-chan?!】

"Zero clothing?"

Outside, Chris looked at the figure that had appeared behind Tachibana Hibiki with great surprise.

"I somewhat expected this to happen. Don't worry, I'm confident I can handle it... Phew, I hope nothing goes wrong, it's just a little bit of use."

Lingyi immediately explained this upon appearing, followed by a hint of struggle on her face.

"Flash Blade Activation - Combo Attack"

The same words came from Lingyi's mouth, but unlike before, this time, Lingyi's left eye, which should have been unable to see, turned into a fiery red.

With this change, Hibiki Tachibana regained consciousness, and Rei's briefly reddened left eye reverted to its original state.

"You should know what to do next."

Then, unable to care about Tachibana Hibiki's appearance, Zero was enveloped in black mist, and then fell from behind the three of them as if she had lost all her strength.

"I understand, Zero-chan."

Once her eyes cleared, Hibiki Tachibana, though still somewhat concerned about what had just happened, ultimately raised Durandal in her hand and, with the help of the two beside her, swung it heavily at Finney.

P.S. Good afternoon.

Chapter 167 Battlefield Cleanup

Synchrogazer!

By combining the power of the three armored warriors in XD mode and utilizing the resonance of Gungnir Durandal, a massive energy pillar appeared in Tachibana Hibiki's hand and immediately slammed into Finny's enormous body.

"Complete destruction of the sacred relic... Bronze Serpent Armor, continue regeneration! How can you allow my body to be destroyed!"

Faced with the attack of the complete relic Durandal, Finney did everything in her power to activate the bronze serpent armor that had merged with her to repair herself.

However, as the light moved downwards inch by inch, the repair of the Bronze Serpent Armor could not keep up at all. Under the scouring of the energy flow, at the cost of burning the entire Durandal, Finney's body completely collapsed.

....翏1 琦异弍（% 八.）四）芭.

The rising sun peeked over the horizon, piercing the darkness and bringing dawn, temporarily ending the night's fierce battle.

As the final, violent explosion subsided, the people who had been staying in the shelter gradually began to return to the city, including Kohinata Mirai and the Second Division group who were in the Lydian Music Academy shelter.

"Hibiki, how did it go? Did you win?"

The first to run out of the shelter, Kohinata Mirai, immediately found Tachibana Hibiki and the others who had just landed on the ground.

"In the future, ah, victory! With Zero-chan's help!"

Landing steadily on the ground, Tachibana Hibiki confirmed Kohinata Mirai's statement, then looked to the side.

At this moment, Lingyi, who had just fallen, seemed to have recovered and was standing in front of the dissipating smoke from the explosion.

"Zero-chan, what are you doing?"

Upon seeing Rei's figure, Tachibana Hibiki instinctively went to her side and asked this question.

"Searching for Finni's body, in order to ensure that I kill her here, after all, this is the purpose of my fight."

Staring at the screen in front of her, Lingyi gave a matter-of-fact answer.

At the spot where the two relics perished together, the dust mixed with energy hindered observation. To prevent any accidents, Zero planned to slowly search for Finn's body outside the dust before launching an attack.

"Did you kill Miss Zi...?"

Hearing Rei's answer without any hesitation, Tachibana Hibiki slowly pondered the meaning behind her words.

[Miss Ryoko, you did so much to see the person you like, but in the end you failed completely, and it has even escalated to this life-or-death situation.]

[...As expected, I still think this kind of thing is terrible. Why can't people communicate and understand each other properly, instead of fighting each other?]

Reflecting on her past experiences, Hibiki Tachibana couldn't help but have these thoughts.

If possible, she still doesn't want to fight against opponents who are also human, and still hopes to avoid attacks between humans as much as possible.

If we had understood Miss Zi earlier, could we have avoided this battle?

Looking into the still-lingering energy dust, Hibiki Tachibana couldn't help but think this.

"Hmm... Um, Rei-chan, before that, could I speak with Ryoko-san?"

After thinking for a moment, Tachibana Hibiki made up her mind, stepped forward to Rei's side, took a deep breath, and made this request to Rei.

"...Shall we talk?"

Rei, noticing Tachibana Hibiki's actions, paused for a moment as she looked at the words displayed before her.

"You mean, you want to talk to Finney?"

After ruling out the possibility that her equipment was broken, Zero asked Tachibana Hibiki the same question.

“We are all human beings, and humans can communicate with each other. I want to understand Miss Zi better, and I also want Miss Zi to understand my views as much as possible.”

Her eyes met Zero's, and Tachibana Hibiki stated her thoughts with a firm expression.

"...Is that so? That's a very unique idea of ​​yours. I didn't expect that even at this point, you would still have such a naive plan."

Looking at the girl's reassuring expression, Lingyi was speechless for a moment.

"Um, Zero-chan, what I mean is..."

"No need to say more, I understand what you mean and I can grant your request, after all, I have indeed received a lot of help from you before."

Hibiki Tachibana wanted to say something more, but was interrupted by Rei's explanation.

"Really!"

Hibiki Tachibana never expected that Rei would actually agree.

"But before that, I want to ask you a question. I want to know if you can bear all the consequences and unforeseen events that arise from your actions?"

Changing the subject, Lingyi slowly questioned him, her emerald eyes carrying a faint sense of pressure.

"Consequences and unexpected events... I will bear them. This is my choice, and I will guarantee it with everything, including my life."

After a moment's thought, without any hesitation, Tachibana Hibiki firmly responded to the question.

"Is that so... In that case..."

Seeing this, Lingyi stopped talking and stepped aside to clear the way to the heavily damaged Finny.

Hibiki Tachibana didn't linger. She walked past Rei and into the dust and mist, and soon brought Finney's body back.

"What a foolish thing you are doing, helping the enemy instead of wiping them out completely."

Finney, who was helped to sit down on a pile of rubble, offered this assessment of Tachibana Hibiki's behavior.

"I would like to speak with you, Miss Ryoko."

Standing next to Finney, Tachibana Hibiki said with a smile.

"I am Finney."

Finney emphasized his identity.

"Haha, I don't understand that much, I just know that Miss Zi is Miss Zi."

Hibiki Tachibana laughed, without changing her form of address.