Sky Striker Princess, but the swan song of Valkyrie.

"Hey, you two, let's get together with her now and see what happens next."

The change was all-encompassing; before anyone could react, the environment was altered, and the other musicians also sensed the change and took action.

..........

Without consulting with his companions, Kohinata Mirai didn't have the luxury of time at that moment.

When her thoughts touched upon reality and her inner guidance resonated slightly, she herself was locked onto by the Zero Void Armor, which had originally been harmless in this world.

At this moment, before her stood a mechanical girl devoid of sadness, anger, joy, or happiness, silently following instructions to achieve a certain goal.

"Since we've come this far, let's go."

Despite the somewhat rushed situation, Kohinata Mirai, clad in the Divine Beast Mirror Armor, had already adapted to the power flowing through her body and, while softly muttering to herself, mentally prepared for battle.

"Target confirmed."

In contrast, the military air force's Zero Clothes also reacted accordingly, exchanging few words and fixing its cold gaze on the enemy before it, thus identifying its target.

Following closely behind, Zero Armor, now in combat mode, unleashed blue energy from its Zero Void armor, propelling it forward relentlessly towards the future of Hiyori, shielded by its armor.

“Call n

Seeing this, Kohinata Mirai raised the mirror fan in her hand and in the blink of an eye, she tentatively fired several beams of divine beast mirror directly at the Zero Void Armor.

Even though it is in the mental space, an attack that has a certain 'consensus' can still retain its original nature. In other words, the Divine Beast Mirror here also possesses the ferocious characteristic of destroying all sacred relics.

If it hits, the armored shield's defense is no different from that of paper.

However, the beam of light did not melt the armor as expected; instead, it was completely neutralized by the water ripples that appeared just between the two of them.

"The attack power is not enough. We need to create distance and concentrate a stronger attack... Hmm, what is this?"

Kohinata Mirai realized this fact and knew that she was not good at close combat. She wanted to use the levitation force of the Divine Beast Mirror to retreat, but when she tried to do so, she felt a sticky sensation.

Looking around, she saw that as she attacked Lingyi, the shimmering water had already wrapped around her limbs, binding her firmly in place like tentacles.

"Oops."

Although the next moment the power of the Divine Beast Mirror was activated to destroy them one by one, the armor shield of the military air armor had already taken advantage of this time to arrive near her.

The next moment, the more ripples it carried made Kohinata Mirai feel as if the surrounding water was a swamp, making it difficult to move, while the entire armored shield was about to press her down.

She could see that Lingyi's short sword was already fully charged, and once she was firmly held in place by the armored shield, defeat would be her only fate.

"However, in that case, you can no longer cancel out this distance!"

Enduring the sluggishness in her body, Kohinata Mirai opened the mirror fan in her hand at a very close distance, and with the force of opening it, the laser of the Divine Beast Mirror burst out like a celestial maiden scattering flowers.

In an instant, the white and purple light bullets collided with the rippling blue armor shield, bursting out with dazzling light, and within this light, an emotion could be glimpsed.

[I can't be sad, I mustn't be sad. There's no time left for me to do that. If I want to fulfill their last wish, I must... find the best solution.]

I understand. After the change, my body has changed; my physical strength, intelligence, and research abilities have all improved in accordance with my wishes. If that's the case...

I need neither sorrow nor joy; I will concentrate all my energy and desire in one direction, thereby maximizing the potential hidden within this body.

Only in this way, only by doing this, can we take them away from this hell.

That decision was made in the initial moments of extreme sadness and pain. Generally speaking, such a thing is impossible. No matter how hard a person tries, emotions and desires will always accompany them.

But this talent, this talent that has been latent in her mind and body since her birth, allowed Lingyi to do this. As a result, the energy supplied for the 'excess' was gradually withdrawn, and all her growth and energy began to be dedicated to only one goal.

"...Is this the beginning?"

The aurora and ripples collided, the impact separating Kohinata Mirai and Rei, who were savoring the determination Rei had just experienced from their clash.

"Phew, let's continue then. I understand how to fight now..."

Despite being separated by a small distance, the pervasive, lingering water flow made it difficult for Kohinata Mirai to increase that distance.

She realized that Zero wouldn't give her the chance to gather enough power to break through the defenses, so Kohinata Mirai came up with a plan.

When the battle resumed, the mirror-like floating cannons were released from the body of the little sun in the future, and white and purple lasers continuously burst from the bright mirror surface, bombarding Zero.

Zero, clad in military air armor, remained completely unfazed, continuously using the ripples that permeated the entire space to neutralize the beams of light from the floating cannons aimed directly at him.

The beams of light and the ripples constantly crisscrossed, collided, and canceled each other out in this body of water, creating a fierce confrontation.

But soon, not long after, despite the bombardment of lasers, Zero found an opportunity to get closer and once again restrained Kohinata Mirai, and the two clashed again.

adjoin--

The energy of the mirror armor was locked in a stalemate, spreading outwards, along with fragments of memories that danced wildly and kaleidoscopically before one's eyes.

"No, please don't kill me! I'm sorry, I was just momentarily blinded by greed. I'll never touch your things again. Please spare me, I'll tell you where there are more supplies—"

In the ruined room, a man whose limbs had been completely dislocated lay prostrate on the ground beside a sack, begging for someone's forgiveness.

How can I trust you? Who knows if you're genuinely remorseful for your actions, or if you're just lying out of necessity?

Even assuming you're truly repentant, looking at your current state, how can I guarantee you won't leak this information to others when you're trying to survive again?

On the other side, Lingyi, sitting on the windowsill, playing with a small military knife in her hand, explained the various possible situations in a casual yet rational manner.

【Me, me, me…】

The man seemed to be trying to explain himself, but before he could finish speaking, the military knife pierced his brain, ending his life in an instant.

[And don't misunderstand, the reason I didn't kill you immediately is simply because I need some time to mentally prepare myself for ending a living, breathing life with my own hands.]

Lingyi, still in the posture of throwing her military knife, stared at the blood gushing from the man's head in front of her, muttering these words.

[Hoo... Ugh—1]

Then, moments after Lingyi finished doing this, she seemed to have seen something terrifying, and with trembling hands grabbed her other trembling wrist.

Ha, haha, haa... ugh, no, I have to get used to it, and I can only get used to this feeling, if I don't...

Then, as Lingyi murmured these words, a horrifying bruise appeared on her wrist, and her body's reaction temporarily subsided.

"These are..."

Kohinata Mirai sensed it; she could feel that, at the moment when she took someone's life for the first time, Zero's heart erupted with a familiar fear and pain.

She quickly recalled the source of this sense of déjà vu: the pain of death, the end of life, that she and her companions had experienced together when they first entered this memory.

"Ugh—"

The pain in her heart almost distorted Kohinata Mirai's fighting movements, but she managed to restrain herself and continued to focus on her preparations.

bang——

A short while later, the collision and impact of light and ripples once again separated the two. To be honest, if possible, Kohinata Mirai would like to keep delaying and waiting for an opportunity like this.

But she knew that even though she was only facing Zero, who was fighting instinctively, this method would probably not work by the third time.

"But this is enough for now."

Fortunately, there was no need for a third time. In the brief exchange just now, Kohinata Mirai had already prepared herself for a decisive victory.

It was a tactic she had learned from Maria, using the Divine Beast Mirror. If Zero were a person with independent consciousness, she would probably be able to see through her plan at a glance. However, right now she only had instinct.

Therefore, the tactic worked. The stray bullets previously fired by the floating cannons were seen to continuously merge and converge under the reflection of the mirror, forming a huge mirror matrix cannon in the air.

Directly below this matrix cannon was Zero Suit, clad in Zero Void Armor.

Chapter 21 The Second Nuclear Breakthrough

The massive, converging beams of white and purple emanated a ferocious, destructive attack on the sacred artifacts, eroding everything in their path. Faced with this onslaught, Zero Armor's Zero Suit had no choice but to use [Flash Blade Technique: Disruption Ripple] to defend against it.

Immediately afterwards, the turquoise ripples collided with the white and purple light cannons, and the energy spread outwards in a huge amount.

Along with this intense clash, a great deal of emotional fragments also dissipated, appearing like a mirror in a chaotic display before one's eyes, briefly bursting forth only to vanish just as quickly.

[I don't want to die, I ...! It's so scary, so scary, so scary! I absolutely don't want to go through that again, I don't want to go back to that moment when I was terrified of my own existence disappearing.]

Seeing it, after killing the lives that blocked her way, and witnessing those lives vanish, Lingyi felt an overwhelming and empathetic fear welling up inside her.

No, that wasn't me, the one who died wasn't me. These emotions won't help the current situation. It's better to think about how to break the current deadlock.

And soon, this fear vanished completely after Lingyi exerted force on him.

[It's outrageous, outrageous, outrageous! I don't understand, I just can't comprehend why those good people who are willing to save lives can't receive good results, why they have to suffer this kind of persecution.]

She saw it, reminiscing about past hopes in a corner of the night, and when she realized that the faces in those memories could no longer move, a sadness spread from the bottom of Lingyi's heart.

No, this is only natural. There's no need to grieve for them. When they took action to go to this chaotic place, they already anticipated this outcome and were prepared for it.

The next moment, the sadness, under forced suppression, was taken for granted and disappeared.

[Unforgivable! Unforgivable! How could you so easily take away precious lives for profit? What do you people even value life to?!]

As information was continuously gathered and the surrounding situation became clearer, Lingyi realized the root of all suffering and erupted with anger towards those who initiated the war.

No, that's pointless. The immediate task is to get them to safety. Anger is unnecessary and irrational.

Immediately afterwards, a rational analysis of the current situation, like ice water, extinguished the flames of anger, making them difficult to reignite.

[Phew, things are going well, and the children are behaving well. That's great. I'm happy they trust me so much; once they're out of danger, they might be able to have a good life.]

I saw it; as the situation stabilized and the road ahead became clearer, I gazed at the life I was protecting in the night, and felt a heartfelt joy.

No, we can't think about these things. The danger hasn't passed yet. As long as we're alive, the shadow of death could fall at any moment. We can't let our guard down.

Subsequently, the joy of initially achieving the goal turned into a cold conclusion, failing to stir any excitement.

"This kind of thing..."

The intense emotions that surged into her mind, and the contrast between that intensity and the subsequent return to stillness, filled Kohinata Mirai with sadness, a chill that penetrated to her very bones almost freezing her.

She couldn't criticize Lingyi's actions, because in that environment, Lingyi's actions were undeniably correct.

However, if she could, she hoped that Lingyi could be a little kinder to herself, relax a little, not be so perfect, and not keep pushing herself into this sad state.

"Phew... that's it."

Even though her heart was being overwhelmed by this torrent, Kohinata Mirai did not stop following her planned battle strategy.

The final blow is poised to strike. After forcing Zero's Zero Clothes to use his decisive defensive ability with the gathered beam of light, the true finishing move will be revealed during the gap in his overload.

Lenses extended from the feet of the divine beast mirror armor, forming a huge mirror ring, which then revealed its ferocious side.

A massive, crimson beam of light, like a torrent, engulfed Lingyi, who had just finished defending herself and was unable to resist. Her last memories were also reflected in her mind along with this torrent.

..........

Is this the end? Having left the heart of the war and arrived at a peaceful place where hell like this doesn't exist, is it all over?

Finally, she saw the war end, left hell, and boarded the ship of hope. It seemed that everything had reached its end, and Lingyi no longer needed to force herself like she was now.

Even so, there's nothing else to do... Hmm, that's it, the current goal has been achieved, time to move on to the next goal.

[While the threat to life is gone, other aspects still require development. Beyond security needs, there are many other requirements, and further work needs to be done.]

Yes, without a doubt, this is the only meaningful thing right now.

However, Lingyi did not do that, or rather, she was no longer able to do so at that moment.

Suppressing one's own emotions brings an unwavering rationality, but this cold and ruthless rationality, in the end, begins to negate the meaning of those emotions.

Madness occurred, a madness that could not be ended by oneself, a madness that denied all emotional meaning and left one's soul riddled with holes, appeared in Lingyi's heart.

Rules—we need to study these to better survive here; education—a good education will help them grow stronger; money—to be absolutely sure, we need to have these in our hands…

Thus, reason, which sees everything as meaningless and cannot tolerate anything other than 'correctness', completely took over Lingyi's mind at this moment.

..........

The crimson light engulfed everything, reaching its distant end with unstoppable force, and then, starting from the distant horizon, the world suddenly shattered.

The battle is over. Kohinata Mirai has emerged victorious. She has successfully breached the emotional core composed of 'nothingness,' allowing the audio-visual memories to continue.

[My body is completely drained; I can't even move a single finger. Is this the weakness that comes from exhausting my mental energy?]

At the same time, naturally, after doing such a thing, her spirit, like Tachibana Hibiki's, fell into an extremely weak state where she could hardly move.

Upon returning to the memory space, her legs went weak and she almost collapsed.

"You did a great job. In the future, really, at least you are much better than me, who was still hesitating at this point."

Muttering these words, Chris caught the weak and unconscious Kohinata Mirai and placed her aside.

"Hmph... Well then, since that's the case, I should play the role I'm supposed to play, right, Zero?"

After finishing that task, Chris turned her attention to the room.

Memories flashed through her mind at this moment, overlapping with her current figure, and thus, the scene from the very beginning of that day was recreated here.