Sky Striker Princess, but the swan song of Valkyrie.

“Not only did he save my sister Serena’s life when I was in my most desperate moment, but he was also one of the few people in my organization who were willing to help and genuinely help us, the test subjects.”

Maria felt that if she didn't answer, the other person would keep nagging, so she casually began to briefly describe her impression of Rei to Tachibana Hibiki.

"Is that so? So, Miss Maria, you and Rei-chan are very close?"

Hibiki Tachibana asked instinctively.

"We have a good relationship. No, not really. Compared to Lingyi, who can do everything well, I, who is mediocre and can hardly do anything well, probably didn't receive any special attention from her."

Maria paused for a moment at Tachibana Hibiki's question, then shook her head, indicating that there was no special relationship between her and Rei.

"For me, the best I can do is to follow her instructions and complete the task. I have no capacity to take on any more responsibility."

Recalling her past experiences, Maria calmly conveyed her self-awareness to Tachibana Hibiki.

In their past interactions, she fully realized Lingyi's reliability in all aspects, while also recognizing her own shortcomings in ability.

“Miss Maria… but I think Miss Maria is amazing. She can sing on such a big stage and is so popular. There’s no need for her to look down on herself like that.”

Hibiki Tachibana didn't quite understand why Maria was acting this way, even though Maria's performance at the concert was so good.

"Look down on me? No, I don't think so."

However, Maria simply shook her head at Tachibana Hibiki's opinion, indicating that she did not share that view.

"There's nothing wrong with the right people being in the right positions. In fact, I would feel very reassured leaving things that I can't handle to Lingyi."

“She would handle all the difficult things for me, and then give me orders, which I would do my best to carry out. I think that’s the right thing to do.”

Maria slowly explained her thoughts to Tachibana Hibiki.

She had no complaints about being inferior to Lingyi; on the contrary, she felt very comfortable to receive help from someone as capable as Lingyi.

She doesn't need to think about those difficult things, nor does she need to shoulder responsibilities she can't handle; she just needs to be an executor.

“Miss Maria… but what if Rei-chan does something wrong?”

After listening to Maria's thoughts, Tachibana Hibiki pondered for a moment and then asked her seriously.

"What are you talking about? How could such a thing be possible? No one understands justice better than her. How could she do something wrong?"

Then, Hibiki Tachibana received a response from Maria that she found very incomprehensible.

In her opinion, Hibiki Tachibana's question was completely unreasonable.

Maria had no idea that Lingyi, who would save her sister's life, fight for the children in the experiment, and never harm life without reason, would do anything wrong.

If so, then she is definitely not at fault.

"How should I explain this... well, there's no particularly obvious reason."

Scratching his head, Tachibana Hibiki wanted to tell Maria about their speculation, but considering that speculation was just speculation without any evidence, he ultimately didn't tell Maria.

"Then there's nothing more to say. Don't forget you're still prisoners of war. You should at least have some awareness of what it means to be a prisoner."

Seeing Tachibana Hibiki's hesitation, Maria immediately told her to leave. Disliking Tachibana Hibiki's ideas, she didn't want to talk to her for another second.

"Hmm... In the future, why don't we just go in and ask Rei-chan what she thinks?"

After being reprimanded by Maria, Hibiki Tachibana returned to Kohinata Mirai's side. After racking her brains, she came up with another idea out of sheer boredom.

"That definitely won't work, Hibiki. Take a look at the atmosphere around you."

Kohinata Mirai feels somewhat helpless about Tachibana Hibiki's reckless approach.

Hey—"

After being splashed with cold water, Tachibana Hibiki, feeling somewhat dejected, sat back down on the steps, looking a little uncomfortable.

"Let's rest a little longer, Hibiki. Look on the bright side, maybe Rei didn't intend to do that."

Kohinata Mirai suggested this to Tachibana Hibiki, who had finally calmed down after hitting a wall.

"well--"

Hibiki Tachibana, who was feeling somewhat troubled, finally found some peace and quiet, though only temporarily.

Kohinata Mirai knew that after a while, Tachibana Hibiki would be back to normal, full of energy, and continue doing what she wanted to do.

Time passed second by second, and before we knew it, the sun, hanging high in the sky, had begun to touch the horizon.

In the golden twilight, Naztashya, aided by some floating units, slowly emerged from the dim space inside the gate of the territory.

"Mum, why are you back so soon? Could it be that there's no way to correct the moon's orbit within our territory?"

Upon seeing Naztashya appear, Maria immediately stepped forward and asked with some surprise.

“No, a method to correct the moon’s orbit has been found, but… Zero said she would take over the follow-up work.”

Naztasha shook her head and began to explain to Maria why she had come out from inside.

A few minutes ago, inside the territory...

"Zero, we have found a possible way to correct the moon's orbit. The moon itself was created as an interference device to hinder human understanding of each other."

"If we can restart the functions damaged by the lunar attack, it might be possible to correct its orbit. According to the data, it might be possible if there is enough string gain for illumination."

After reviewing the stored information within the territory, Naztashya found a potentially feasible way to repair the moon's orbit, and thus opened communication with the bridge to tell Zero about it.

"...Is that so? I understand."

Meanwhile, Zero, who was on the bridge, responded after a long silence.

“Zero, singing has the power to connect people’s hearts. The audience who listens to the singing can generate string amplification. Can you contact Maria over there? As long as we broadcast the scene of her singing, we can use the territory to collect enough string amplification to illuminate the moon.”

Naztashia's mood improved; she had finally found an effective way to correct the moon's orbit.

“Without Maria, if it’s just string gain, I have a more reliable collection method.”

Zero shook her head on the screen, not agreeing with Naztasha's suggestion.

"What methods make it more reliable?"

Naztasha asked instinctively.

“Naztashya, your work is done. I have taken control of the territory. There is nothing more for you here. Go back.”

However, what awaited them was not Lingyi's explanation, but a notice and an order to leave.

"Lingyi, you..."

Naztashya was about to say something when she noticed several yellow and white floating units appearing around her.

"I understand. I'll leave the rest to you, Zero."

Closing her eyes, Naztasha understood Zero's meaning; their cooperation with the other party had ended at this moment.

So, after some time, under the monitoring and assistance of the floating units, Naztash left the control room, handing over complete control of the entire territory to Zero, and reunited with Maria.

"Is that so, Mum?"

With Naztasha's explanation, Maria understood what had happened.

"Now, we can only believe that Zero really has a way to obtain such a huge phonic gain... Hmm!"

As Naztashya was speaking, suddenly, the entire territory trembled violently.

"Mum, what's going on? Is there a problem with our territory? Is it an enemy attack?"

Startled by this sudden phenomenon, Maria instinctively became alert.

"Don't worry, this is Lingyi raising her territory. She's probably preparing to repair the moon's orbit."

Enduring the accelerating rise of the territory, Naztasha explained to Maria.

And just as she said, as the tremors intensified, the vast territory began to rise rapidly from underwater toward the sky.

"But does Lingyi really need to be in such a hurry?"

Naztasha had some doubts. In her opinion, there was still plenty of time, and Zero could have carried it out at a safer time.

"Hmm, what is that?"

Thinking of this, Naztash looked toward the bridge and noticed that Zero was flashing red and green lights.

Meanwhile, Zero, who was on the bridge, was in a slightly unsettling state.

Chapter Sixty-Nine: Track Repair

On the bridge, one hand gripped the spherical control panel, the other clutched his sweat-drenched shirt, and he was panting heavily.

"Why now? I can't hold back anymore. Wait a little longer, at least until we reach a safe time and place. Hmm... Ha, looks like it won't work. I can't control my emotions."

After driving Naztashya away, Zero originally planned to find a safe time to correct the moon's orbit, as intended.

However, she couldn't do it, perhaps because of her previous disappointment with Kohinata Mirai's actions, or perhaps because the current preparations were already almost complete.

At this moment, Lingyi could no longer suppress her urgent desire to achieve her goal.

"If things continue like this... then we can only go along with it for now. Okay, but we can't delay any longer. We must complete the remaining preparations as soon as possible."

Realizing that her inner rage was becoming increasingly difficult to control, Lingyi understood that she had to do something to vent her emotions.

With that in mind, she followed the urge of her somewhat broken spirit and placed the Skyblade on the control panel of the bridge of the Territory.

"The immense energy obtained from Nephilim, the 'orb of light' unearthed from the territory that maps the global spiritual veins, and the mechanics contained within the Flashblade."

"The most basic conditions have been met. Let's begin the experiment. Flash Blade Activation? Combo Blade!"

Following Lingyi's command, the black and red blade in her hand absorbed information and energy, bursting forth with intense red and green light.

"What exactly is that? Did Zero-chan make it?"

At the entrance to the territory, Tachibana Hibiki stared in astonishment at the red and green light that was gradually spreading.

"That light felt very eerie."

Looking at the red and green light, Kohinata Mirai felt a little uncomfortable.

"It's spreading this way. What exactly is Lingyi doing?"

Maria was slightly confused by the current situation, but she didn't have time to understand it.

Before the FIS members, Tachibana Hibiki, and Kohinata Mirai could figure it out, the spreading light had already enveloped them and then spread further away.

"Commander, we have detected a massive artifact fluctuation. We have never seen anything like this before."

On the edge of the territory, inside the Second Division ship, which had just completed its transfer and approached but was grounded due to the rise of the territory, they observed the light spreading in this direction.

"Prepare to resist, although it is unclear whether we can resist."

Kazanari Genjuro immediately issued orders to try to stop the light from intruding through the temporary headquarters' defensive facilities.

However, the red and green light screen that appeared inside the temporary headquarters of Section Two, after passing through the barrier, proved that they had no way to stop him.

Soon, a faint red and green light enveloped the entire territory, and then this light began to descend, downwards, merging into the planet's spiritual veins.

Subsequently, following the spiritual veins, the light flowed to all areas of the planet. With the help of the power within the spiritual veins, the red and green light began to expand, overflowing onto the ground and further spreading to every corner.

So, less than a minute later, the red and green light, centered on the territory and with the spiritual veins as its framework, spread its influence to almost the entire surface of the earth, except for a few blind spots.

"Hmm, nothing has changed at all. What are those lights for?"

"It's strange," Tachibana Hibiki said.

After being exposed to red and green light, she initially thought something extraordinary would happen, but after careful examination, she didn't feel anything unusual at all.

"Indeed, it seems the light disappeared after just one exposure. What's the point?"

Kohinata Mirai also couldn't figure out the effect of the light emitted by Rei.

"I don't know, but Lingyi must have her reasons for doing this. Now, oh right, Mum, are we going to 'sing' together later?"

Maria shook her head, indicating that she didn't know the specifics either, and then, as if remembering something, asked Naztasha.

"Indeed, it's time. Singing is something I have to do if there's no urgent matter."

Naztasha understood what Maria wanted to do and was ready.

"Indeed, even someone like me who wants to be a hero has to 'sing' first before I can continue with what comes next."

Dr. Will readily joined the discussion.

"Soft, everyone at FIS... it's definitely time. Let's work together in the future."

Seeing the three's actions, Tachibana Hibiki also remembered this 'important' matter and invited Kohinata to join her.

"Yes, we must get on it quickly."