Sky Striker Princess, but the swan song of Valkyrie.

Therefore, even with considerable power, it is difficult to have a decisive, fatal blow against players who are agile in XD mode.

However, despite this, Zero doesn't actually need a sure-fire opportunity.

Ultimately, the XD mode currently used by the performers is a time-limited mode under specific conditions. As long as they can hold out until their time limit is lifted, they will be on the same starting line as Zero again.

"We must destroy this mech as soon as possible; we can't delay any longer!"

Soon, the players, including Maria, realized this.

"However, that energy barrier is very difficult to break through, and the magic-breaking effect of the Divine Beast Mirror is not particularly effective against that barrier."

Kohinata Mirai, who has always wanted to try to break through using the Divine Beast Mirror, said that defeating it is not an easy task.

The mech, made entirely from sacred relics, has a barrier that their scattered attacks simply cannot break through.

"In that case, let's gather everyone's strength to break through. I'll stop Zero-chan's actions, and then everyone can take advantage of this opportunity!"

Tachibana Hibiki shouted this loudly, and with the agreement of the others, she stepped forward and used her own strength to confront the huge mecha.

"Don't waste Tachibana's persistence; channel her energy into ArmdGear!"

"Hmph, got it!" "Understood." "Death!" "Go!" "Victory is inevitable."

Taking advantage of the moment when the mechs became easy targets, the six women successively channeled the energy released from their restrictions onto their weapons. Immediately, their weapons transformed into attacks, charging towards the mechs.

boom

A violent explosion occurred on the mech; the bombardment of the Sixfold XD mode tore a huge gash in the armor shield.

"The attack is effective... wait, no, the wound is healing?!"

Before the attackers could even rejoice at their attack, they discovered that the wounds they had inflicted healed rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye, and soon there was no trace of their previous injuries.

"The prototype Sky Striker Princess was the original armor; all subsequent armors were designed and derived from it. Therefore, it possesses the capabilities of all other armors, and in fact, when its energy is sufficient, its abilities surpass those of the elemental armors!"

Zero, who was controlling the mecha in the center, explained to the musicians while the mechanical structure operated to its limit under the impact of enormous energy. The force directly sent Tachibana Hibiki, who was fighting against her, flying away.

Even though she was at a disadvantage again, Tachibana Hibiki, who had regained her footing, did not give up. The power that the warriors had gathered was now in her hands, radiating a blazing light.

"Still not giving up? Since that's the case!"

Realizing that Tachibana Hibiki intended to use this gathered power to attack again, Tianjin aimed his longsword at the opponent who was gathering power and launched a slash at Tachibana Hibiki's position with tremendous force.

"ha--"

The longsword struck Tachibana Hibiki in mid-air, but the sensation that followed and the sound of Tachibana Hibiki coming through the light told Zero that the opponent's power had not diminished.

"Holding each other's hands tightly, this is my ArmdGear!"

A loud sound came from the sphere of light. The light dissipated, and the fist-gun that Tachibana Hibiki had originally held had now expanded into a giant armored hand radiating immense power.

At this moment, the giant armored hand tightly gripped the armored sword that Tianjin had cut through, preventing it from advancing even an inch and leaving it with no way to escape.

"Even though the weapon has changed its stance, you still can't break through the defenses of this mech."

By abandoning the armored sword that was being held and regenerating it by retreating, Zero broke free from Hibiki Tachibana's armored fist and regained his footing.

"I will defeat you, defeat Zero-chan right here, and then, I will hold your hand tightly and never let go!"

With her fist held horizontally and her golden pupils fixed on Zero, who was positioned in the center of the armor, Hibiki Tachibana loudly proclaimed her declaration.

Immediately, Hibiki Tachibana aimed the armor at Zero, and the gauntlets disintegrated and expanded. Seven-colored energy filled the gaps left by the expansion, and finally, it transformed into a giant fist with dazzling light.

"Aha--"

Driven by this giant fist, Hibiki Tachibana launched her strongest charge at Zero, the huge colorful fist crashing into Zero's mech's shield and almost shattering it instantly.

"No matter how many times it's broken, it can be put back together."

However, while being shattered, the armored shield was also repairing itself. The repair force countered the punch, and for a moment, Tachibana Hibiki's momentum was slowed down.

If this continues, her attack will inevitably be worn down by constant attrition.

"Give Tachibana a helping hand, Tian Yu Yu Zhan!"

"Ichaival!"

"SuLagana!"

"Igalima!"

"Mythical Beast Mirror".

"Airgetl3m!"

At that moment, seeing the scene before them, the other musicians realized that they had to help Tachibana Hibiki now.

Immediately, they concentrated all the energy of XD mode into their weapons. Then, different colored energies flew out from their hands and converged on Tachibana Hibiki.

"Gangniel!"

Countless energies converged on Tachibana Hibiki's body, golden light burst forth, and the power to break through anything gathered in her hands.

With her loud shout, ArmdGear's output power increased further, ultimately transforming into an unparalleled, decisive blow: the Brilliant Fist.

Under the impact of this massive, explosive energy, the mech's repair capabilities could not keep up with the speed of destruction, and its overall structure finally began to collapse irreversibly.

"Ha... Haha, that's really well done, Akira, Hibiki Tachibana."

As the mecha continued to disintegrate, half of the auxiliary mirror that Zero used to control the mecha also shattered. Using this half-shattered auxiliary mirror, Zero saw Tachibana Hibiki floating in front of her.

"Zero-chan".

Hibiki Tachibana, who had already closed in to a certain distance, reached out her hand without thinking and tried to pull Rei out of the mecha.

"Don't come near me!"

However, what responded to Hibiki Tachibana's warm hand was Rei's indifferent gaze and the unwavering, sharp, black-red blade aimed at her.

P.S. Good evening.

Chapter Forty-Nine: Mysterious and Unpredictable

"It's over. Zero-chan has failed. So, in that case..."

"Ah, yes, indeed, the loser should have the fate of a loser."

Faced with Rei's attitude, Hibiki Tachibana wanted to say something, but before she could finish speaking, she was interrupted by Rei's words.

Then she saw that the area around Zero, including the entire mecha, began to flash a dangerous red light.

"The structure originally used to concentrate energy to supply the mech has been damaged. The Nafili contains a huge amount of energy, which will explode once it is out of control."

"Congratulations, Hibiki Tachibana. You have successfully defeated the evil that sought to dominate the world. Now, go and celebrate your own victory."

Standing inside the mecha radiating a dangerous glow, Zero spoke to Tachibana Hibiki, coldly wielding her Flash Blade, unleashing a continuous stream of red sword energy.

"Ryou-chan...wait, no!"

Caught off guard, Tachibana Hibiki was sent flying a distance by the attack released by Rei.

When she blocked the attack and came to her senses, all she could see was the mecha that had begun to energize, and the platinum-haired girl at the center of that energy.

"Hey, that guy, is he planning to self-destruct? Are you kidding me? We finally got to this scene!"

Chris could not accept Zero's current plan no matter what.

At the same time, the other musicians also realized what was about to happen, and in an instant, they all wanted to get closer and try to pull the girl out of the center of the explosion.

Hibiki Tachibana, who was closest and furthest away, rushed toward the center of the explosion with all her might the moment she realized it.

"Give me your hand. We can talk about any problems later, don't do this!"

Looking at the girl who remained unmoved in the center, Tachibana Hibiki said this while maintaining her charging stance and reaching out her hand.

"Losers must face the consequences of being losers. I will decide for myself when my life should end."

Ignoring Tachibana Hibiki's outstretched hand, Rei threw out her flash sword, the black and red blade striking her like a meteor.

Although the attack did not damage Hibiki Tachibana in XD mode, it slowed her progress.

When Tachibana Hibiki stabilized her flight and was still unwilling to give up, all that awaited her was the enormous light and heat released by the mecha's self-destruction.

......

ended.

It's all over.

The musicians, who had exhausted all their strength in the previous battle, were ultimately unable to pull the girl out of the mecha before it self-destructed.

Furthermore, due to that final self-destruction, many players, including Hibiki Tachibana, who were unwilling to accept it, were directly subjected to the impact of the explosion in front of them and suffered considerable injuries.

In the end, all that remained was the endless noise of Babylon's treasure trove, with no more clothes left.

The players had no choice but to rely on the power of the Skyblade, a completely unowned relic that had lost its master, to reopen the gates of the Babylonian vault and return to the real world, battered and bruised.

"...Clearly, it was just a little bit short."

Hibiki Tachibana, now out of XD mode, silently walked out of the gates of the Babylonian Treasury, unsure of what to do.

Did they win? Yes, they did win, but they didn't really win.

They almost reached out to each other, but at the last moment, they were pushed away, and their efforts almost failed.

"..."

Chris, on the other hand, was in an even more difficult state of autism.

In the final moments within the Babylonian vault, her search was the most diligent and frantic, yet no matter how hard she searched, in the time before the noise swarmed in, she could not find a single trace of Lingyi's remains.

It was as if the other person's entire body had been completely vaporized in that massive explosion.

"Zero... Ugh, I don't understand, this is so strange."

"Zero-chan...why does it have to be like this...Death..."

"Sister Lingyi..."

The other performers, to varying degrees, felt dissatisfied and saddened by the current outcome, finding it difficult to suppress their heartbroken grief.

"Everyone... cough cough, how did the final battle go? Is there anything I can help with?"

Just as everyone present was immersed in the atmosphere of sorrow, a weak and delicate girl's voice came from outside. It was Elfnein who was waiting outside.

Upon noticing the fluctuations in the phase space, she rushed over without stopping, inquiring about the battle situation and hoping to provide as much assistance as possible to the musicians.

"Elphnein-chan...we failed. We couldn't bring back Rei. She...sob...I'm sorry."

Noticing Elphnein's arrival, Hibiki Tachibana tries to muster her strength to reply.

However, he could only get halfway through his sentence before he couldn't control his emotions and walked to the side, not knowing what to do next.

"Let me explain. The general process is..."

The only one who could still barely maintain her rationality stepped forward and began to briefly recount the battle between them and Zero to Elfnein.

"Miss Zero died in the mecha's self-destruction?"

After hearing Kazanari's final statement and learning the truth, Elfnein showed a surprised expression.

"Yes, the only thing we can find that belongs to her is this sword, a complete relic, that hit Tachibana during the battle."

Still immersed in grief, Kazanari Tsubasa took out the black and red blade that Tachibana Hibiki had entrusted to her for safekeeping, and spoke to Elfnein as if confirming something.

"No, I'm not confirming, it's just... cough cough, Miss Tsubasa, if I'm not mistaken, Miss Zero might still be alive."

After coughing weakly a few times, Elfnein, with an uncertain expression and some guesswork, gave her thoughts.

"Eh?"

"What do you mean? Explain yourself clearly!"

Noticing Elfnein's words, Chris stepped forward first, her voice filled with impatience, unease, and a deep, hidden hope, as she asked Elfnein a question.

"Sigh, I, Boku..."

Distracted by Chris's harsh words, Elfnein was momentarily flustered.

"Huff...huff, Chris, don't rush, take your time. Why do you think Zero is still alive, Elfnein?"

Trying hard to control her emotions, Kohinata Mirai stepped forward to comfort Chris while calmly asking Elfnein for the reason.

The other musicians present who noticed this also came closer, listening intently but trying their best to remain calm.

"That's right. According to the records of the battle between the Bavarian Light Society and Miss Zero, Director Adam once solemnly gave a piece of intelligence to all the participants."

"That is, the only criterion for confirming the death of the being called Zero is whether there was a battle with a huge and black armored vehicle, and whether it was destroyed without being allowed to escape by transfer."