Sky Striker Princess, but the swan song of Valkyrie.

However, after this incident, one of the two musicians who served as combatants was captured and the other betrayed them, while Finney, who had been locked up, was released from prison.

If she continues at her original steady pace, she will likely have to face three prepared musicians alone when she goes to the new territory, as well as Finni, who may have merged with some kind of complete relic.

That would undoubtedly be a hellish level of difficulty, so Zero must do everything in her power to avoid encountering such a hellish difficulty.

"Therefore, we must delay their actions as much as possible, so that they don't have time to exchange information and so that Phine doesn't have time to perform the relic fusion surgery. Furthermore, we must take advantage of this time difference to activate the territory in one go."

Lingyi pondered her revised action plan, and after feeling that there were no major problems, she nodded and turned off the thrusters behind her.

Then, the free-falling Zero Clothes landed in the cockpit of a hovering aircraft with a sharp shape and metallic sheen.

Now that FIS's aircraft are inoperable due to Phineas, Zero has no choice but to use her own aircraft, the Skyblade Organization - Hercules Base, to save time.

Incidentally, it was also because she used this aircraft as a springboard that she was able to quickly jump from the battlefield where she was fighting the three musicians to the temporary headquarters of Section Two, and with the help of the spare weapons stored on it, she was able to cause irreparable damage to the headquarters.

boom

Finally, as the propulsion engines of the Hercules base began to operate, Zero, having achieved his objective, disappeared into the distance from above Section Two, under the helpless gaze of the Section Two members below, marking the temporary end of this conflict.

"Master, are you alright?"

Hibiki Tachibana, who rushed back as fast as she could, saw the temporary headquarters that had become marine debris on the sea and asked with great concern.

"Don't worry, Tachibana, Rei, her main objective seems to be just to destroy the temporary headquarters. All personnel have been evacuated and no one has been injured."

Genjuro Kazanari, who was directing the Second Division personnel in salvaging important wreckage, calmly explained the current situation to Hibiki Tachibana.

"That guy really went too far."

Chris also came over, and looking at the devastation at sea, she couldn't help but say something.

"Ah, indeed. After the destruction, the most important functions of the temporary headquarters, such as underwater movement, support for musicians, and the deployment of musicians loaded with missiles, are all unusable." Shinji Ogawa looked at the report that had just been submitted and reported the current situation to everyone present with a wry smile.

"Damn it, if only I, as someone who's good at protecting others, could have detected her intentions faster, if only I were stronger..."

Upon hearing about the losses suffered by the Second Division, Feng Mingyi said with great remorse.

"It's alright, Yi. Although the headquarters was destroyed, as long as we are all still here, the new headquarters will be built soon."

Kazanari Genjuro smiled and comforted him.

"While I admire your continued optimism, I must remind you that you have no time left."

Just as the members of Section Two were facing this defeat with the utmost optimism, a few words of cold water were uttered from Tsukuyomi's serious expression.

"Huh... What do you mean? What do you know?"

Upon hearing Tsukuyomi's words, Chris's attention shifted to this person, who was in the same organization as Zero, and she questioned him sternly.

"Ah, little Chris, it's been months... well, it should be three months since we last met. You're still as impatient as ever. I really miss you."

Then, Chris saw a familiar, somewhat frightened expression on the face of the girl who was slightly younger than her.

“Eek—"You, you, you, you, you wouldn't be!

Like a cat whose tail has been stepped on, Chris realized the truth revealed in the other person's words.

"Miss Ryoko, you're the reincarnated Miss Ryoko, right?"

Then, without much hesitation, the straightforward Tachibana Hibiki revealed the fact that was already on the tip of her tongue.

"Hey!"

As a result, a huge commotion broke out in the entire Second Section.

After calming down with all their might, the core members of Section Two quickly realized that the most important thing to do now was to exchange information with Finney, who was possessing Tsukuyomi's body.

"Liao Zijun Qi-Er Shanlin Shi Jiu# Qi Shan (~Four), is everything you just said true?"

"While it's not 100% accurate, based on my understanding, it should be over 90% correct."

So, about an hour later, they received a wealth of information from Finney's rambling conversation, information they had never received before.

This includes Zero's position within FIS, what FIS wants to do, Zero's existence in prehistoric civilizations, and most importantly, the ultimate goal of Zero as speculated by Phine.

"The people of prehistoric civilizations integrated the world's information... on an absurd scale."

After receiving such a massive amount of information, the members of the Second Division fell silent, unsure of how to process this seemingly unbelievable information.

After all, they are now facing the most formidable enemy, who intends to control the entire world and maintains a cautious and calm mindset.

Faced with such an enemy, and recalling their past battles where they had never gained the slightest advantage, anxiety and pressure inevitably arose in their hearts.

"This kind of thing is absolutely tragic!"

However, in this serious and tense atmosphere, suddenly, Tachibana Hibiki's voice, tinged with sobs, broke the silence.

"Lingyi-chan has always maintained this state of being unable to trust anyone, afraid to make friends, and constantly moving forward in solitude... This is definitely not right!"

"She must be in a lot of pain. She didn't want to do those things, she just wanted to live a happy life, but she was forced into this state by so many painful things."

An overwhelming sense of sadness welled up inside Tachibana Hibiki.

In the past, during a brief connection while fighting Finn, she had glimpsed the dark quagmire within Zero's heart.

Now, she finally understood how painful and agonizing emotions lay behind that black quagmire, to the point that she couldn't suppress her grief.

"Tachibana...yes."

Looking at the flaxen-haired girl with tears in her eyes, Kazanari Genjuro calmly reflected on his feelings just now.

"Master, I absolutely must save Lingyi-chan! I absolutely must pass on this belief that I want to help her, that I want to hold the real Lingyi's hand!"

Turning to her master, Tachibana Hibiki spoke earnestly, revealing her most genuine and sincere thoughts.

"Ah, that's right, Tachibana, that's what we should do. No matter how powerful the enemy is, as long as she needs help, we should go up and help her up."

As the commander of Section Two, Kazanari Genjuro also swept away the gloom in his heart and understood what they should do now.

"...Seriously, you've always been like this, you idiot. Ah, you're right, I have a score to settle with her too. She kept such an important thing from me. I'm definitely going to give that girl a good beating."

Following Tachibana Hibiki's words came Chris's smiling face. At this moment, she finally understood Rei a little and realized that Rei also had things she wanted to do.

"Although I have fought her several times before, I also know that she is by no means an evil person who indiscriminately kills the innocent. If the shadow in her heart cannot be healed, I, as her protector, will use the sword in my hand to cut it down for her."

After pondering for a long time, Feng Mingyi looked at her companions and made a declaration that was very much in line with her own characteristics.

"You guys really haven't changed at all."

Seeing how quickly the members of Section Two had recovered from their low spirits, Finney, who was in Tsukuyomi's mind, couldn't help but smile with satisfaction.

“Finnie, have they always been this naive? They’ve never beaten Sister Zero.”

As for Tsukuyomi, seeing the lively atmosphere among the Second Division members, she couldn't help but feel a little surprised.

Although she also aims to help Zero, she also holds a rather pessimistic view of being Zero's enemy.

"That's what makes them so powerful. Perhaps only those with this mindset could possibly make Lingyi suffer."

Faced with Tsukuyomi's inner doubts, Finnie smiled and shared her thoughts with her in her mind.

"Ms. Ryoko, thank you for bringing so much information. I look forward to your guidance in rescuing Rei-chan!"

At that moment, while Tsukuyomi was talking to Finney, Tachibana Hibiki came to her very earnestly and said sincerely.

"Ah, of course, I will help you. After all, after temporarily giving up on her dream, the first thing I can't stand is her unsmiling face."

Finney did not refuse and readily agreed to Tachibana Hibiki's request.

"Yay!"

After receiving the answer, Hibiki Tachibana's mood visibly brightened, and it seemed that being able to fight alongside 'Ryoko-san' again made her very happy.

"Ugh, I don't understand at all, this is an absolutely mind-blowing death!"

At this moment, Xiaoqiege, who had been listening to and observing the entire process, said in a state of confusion.

"It's okay, Kiri-chan. I was also very surprised when I found out about these things. And I'm sorry for keeping it from you before, because Fini was worried that Zero-chan would find out by eavesdropping, and I didn't have time to explain. I'm sorry." The Tsukuyomi tone returned, comforting Kiri-chan beside her while apologizing for all the things she had done wrong.

"Yeah, it's okay. Compared to me, it's much harder for you to bear so much on your mind."

In response, Xiaoqiege said optimistically, no longer caring about Tsukuyomi's previous concealment.

Chapter Sixty-One: Before the Battle

In the FIS outpost, a flying vehicle tens of meters long slowly hovered directly above it. Then, under Maria's vigilant gaze on the ground, Zero's figure emerged from inside and landed on the ground.

"Lingyi, what exactly were you doing just now? Why was the aircraft destroyed, and why was the song being switched?"

Upon seeing Lingyi, Maria immediately stepped forward and anxiously asked what had happened.

All she knew was that an explosion had suddenly occurred around the base. When she came out, not only was the aircraft destroyed, but Xiaoqiege, Yuedu Diao, and Lingyi were also missing and could not be found.

"Yes, all the supplies inside the aircraft have been salvaged. That's a good job, and it will save a lot of time."

Without answering immediately, Lingyi first looked at Maria's work and nodded in affirmation.

"After all, Zero confessed. But... in order to salvage as much as possible as quickly as possible, I used Gungnir. That should be fine, right?"

Maria glanced at the pile of things she had carried out and felt a little uneasy.

Earlier, when she was confused about the current situation, Lingyi sent her a message, telling her to go and salvage the equipment in the exploded aircraft first.

But the explosion was quite thorough, so until just now, she had been using the power of Symphogear to search for anything still usable from the burning wreckage of the spacecraft.

"It's alright. The equipment is more important. Besides, the situation has changed, so we can't worry about secrecy anymore. The most urgent task is to complete the objective as soon as possible."

"If you've used Symphogear, Maria, are you currently in a cooldown period? Hmm, it's alright. The Second Section has stalled for enough time for you to recover from your cooldown. Your combat strength is not a problem."

Shaking her head, Lingyi did not blame Maria for her independent actions, but instead considered the detailed plan for the next move.

"Um, Zero, what exactly happened? The situation has changed... Is it related to the disappearance of Tsurugi and the others?"

Maria, completely bewildered, wanted an explanation.

“I will explain the details on the way. Maria, take the necessary equipment to that ‘Hercules Base.’ I’m going to bring Kohinata out. We need to prepare for the final stage.”

Without saying much, Lingyi pointed to the aircraft that had begun to land and gave instructions.

She then calmly walked into the stronghold. Now she had to save time, so she had to save as much time as possible.

"alright, I got it."

Although she didn't understand Zero's behavior, Maria cooperated with Zero's actions without saying much, based on her past trust in Zero.

Shortly afterward, as all the equipment was moved and installed at the Hercules base, and Maria, Naztasia, Dr. Will, and the remaining personnel entered, the sharply styled aircraft took off again.

"Really? Was Tiao bewitched by Finney?"

On the aircraft, after Zero explained what had happened, Naztashia's eyes showed some sadness.

"Ah, that should be it. I can only say that I underestimated her abilities, even though I had already eliminated her ability to usurp my place."

"If I had known it would turn out like this, I should have risked damage from the swap to separate her from the body."

Lingyi did have some regrets about this.

She originally thought that as long as she gave a good reminder so that Finney, who was locked up in jail, would no longer have the opportunity to take over the body, then she would have handled the situation well.

But to her surprise, even so, Finney could still exert influence, which only showed that her research on the soul was still inferior to hers.

“Phineas… is this ancient civilization’s undead really that terrifying? If we try to summon her, won’t Phineas kill her?”

After hearing Lingyi's story, Maria's expression darkened, and she couldn't help but make some worried guesses.

“There’s no need to worry about that. Even if he could exert influence, Phine would never be able to break through the barriers I set up. The problem is that I’m worried that Phine might use that relic fusion technique to find complete or damaged relic and fuse it into his body.”

"That would be terrible. Our current combat strength is insufficient to deal with another relic fusion, and the fusion will also cause irreversible damage to the body. That's why I'm in such a hurry to complete the activation of the territory before the Finni operation."

Zero simply reassured Maria of her concerns, and then went on to explain the current course of action and the reasons behind it.

"I understand. Also, I have basically understood the operation method of the aircraft that Lingyi just taught me. However, I understand the parts that are similar to the operation method of the original aircraft, but I still don't understand the extra functions."

After receiving Zero's assurance and explanation, Maria was temporarily relieved and began to focus on their current actions.

Since she was still in Symphogear's cooldown period, Zero used her as a backup pilot and explained how to operate the aircraft.

This way, in case of an emergency, someone can pilot the aircraft, allowing Zero to handle any potential emergencies with peace of mind.

"It's alright, those are modules that assist me in battle, it doesn't matter if I don't understand them. And, Hinata... are you feeling unwell? Can you wear the Divine Beast Mirror?"

After answering Maria's question, Zero then turned her gaze to Kohinata Mirai, who had been silent all along.

"...Hey, I should be fine, I don't feel any discomfort."

Kohinata Mirai hesitated for a moment, but finally said that she had no problem.

"Okay, Will, your linker has been checked, is everything okay?"