Sky Striker Princess, but the swan song of Valkyrie.

And so, on the battlefield filled with the smoke of gunpowder, Feng Mingyi swung her sword at "Lingyi." The fruits of her life's cultivation, the power of her entire life, and the blade she had honed day by day, blossomed and bore fruit at this moment.

In a fleeting instant, a tremendous burst of sound, light, and heat, akin to a strategic bombing weapon, erupted in this small area like a red lotus in full bloom.

All the products of human civilization in the surrounding area were transformed into their most primitive form under the impact of this enormous energy.

Following the earth-shattering explosion, thick smoke and dust enveloped the area. Soon after, a cool evening breeze dispersed the smoke and dust, revealing the final outcome of the battle to everyone present.

After everything dissipated, the teleportation portals that filled the sky had completely disappeared, and a corner of the once bustling hot spring town had been completely erased from the map.

The battlefield, where the fighting had just been extremely intense, now only had one thing left: a blue-haired guard standing alone in the center of the ruins.

"Miss Yi."

After a brief but massive shock, Hibiki Tachibana immediately turned her attention to the center of the battle between Tsubasa Kazanari and 1'Zero.

"Are you alright, Yi?"

Commander Fengming also cast a worried glance in that direction.

"...I am the guardian of humanity."

Perhaps having heard the two talking, Kazami Wing, standing in the center of the ruins, responded with a trembling voice.

"No, a sword that can break at this moment."

Then, she twisted her body with great effort and continued speaking, allowing Tachibana Hibiki and Commander Kazanari to see her current state.

Bright red blood, a vital substance that should be working within the body for normal bodily functions, kept gushing out from the gaps in Fengmingyi's unfocused eyes and lips.

It was quite obvious that after using such powerful force, Kazami's condition was now indescribably bad.

【ah?】

Upon seeing this, Hibiki Tachibana's mind went blank.

Because she didn't know how to react, her heart was filled with overwhelming sadness and shock.

While Tachibana Hibiki was stunned, Kazanari Tsubasa, who had managed to utter two sentences with all her might, collapsed weakly to the ground like a bird with broken wings.

"Miss Yi!"

The overwhelming reality threw Tachibana Hibiki's mind into chaos, leaving her only able to express her emotions through screaming.

"Commander Fengming, I apologize. The evacuation of the people took too long and we were unable to provide timely support."

At this moment, a dozen or so members of Section Two, dressed in black suits, finally arrived late, just like police officers in various movies and TV dramas, after the battle had ended.

"No, you've come at the perfect time! Contact the relevant medical personnel immediately. Yi just used the power of the Last Song and needs the highest level of medical support!"

Unlike Hibiki Tachibana's bewilderment, Commander Kazanari, who was already mentally prepared, calmly began to arrange rescue work for Kazanari Tsubasa, even if such rescue work might be futile.

"Yes, we understand."

The members of Section Two answered, and then began to divide up their tasks, doing the various post-war cleanup work they were supposed to do.

"Miss Tsubasa, why, why must Miss Tsubasa suffer such a painful thing? Why? This is so strange."

"It's so sad," Tachibana Hibiki said.

Everything that had happened today erupted in Tachibana Hibiki's heart when she saw the pain on the face of the person she cared about, and when the tense battle was finally over.

"Why has our ordinary daily life turned out like this?"

Hibiki Tachibana knelt on the ground, her mind a complete mess.

"Phew, Tachibana, let's go back now. The battle is over. Kazanari Tsubasa, she just did what she always wanted to do."

Commander Kazami gently closed his eyes, and after a short while, he spoke calmly to Hibiki Hanahiro.

"At least, she successfully defeated Zero, which reduces the number of enemies we have to face."

Commander Fengming said sadly, his gaze shifting to the area in front of Fengming Wing's attack. At the end of the attack marks, a black and red blade lay silently, its owner nowhere to be found.

"...

Hibiki Tachibana fell silent, seemingly thinking about something, or perhaps not thinking about anything at all.

"Phew, Ogawa, let's retrieve that relic. As a complete relic, it has considerable research value."

Seeing Tachibana Hibiki's state, Commander Kazunari couldn't say anything more, so he turned his gaze to Ogawa Shinji, who had just crawled out of the ruins, and spoke to him.

Now that they had won the battle, it was only natural for them to take back the spoils of war from the enemy.

"Yes, I understand, Commander."

Covered in dust and wounds, Ogawa Shinji nodded to Commander Kazanari before quickly running toward the black and red blade stuck in the ground.

"So this is... the Flash Blade? Let's retrieve it anyway."

Standing before the black and red blade, Ogawa Shinji looked at the relic that had caused them so much trouble with a complicated expression. He stretched out his gloved hand, trying to pull it off the ground.

"Wait, what's this?!"

Shinji Ogawa's expression changed.

Just as his hand was about to touch the hilt of the Flash Blade, the Flash Blade, which had been quietly stuck in the ground, suddenly emitted a bright red light.

“(▼伶▼#)!”

The next moment, the blade stuck in the ground suddenly defied the laws of nature and rose into the air, hovering steadily in the air.

"What exactly is this? Could it be an autonomous type of relic?"

Shinji Ogawa made this guess based on the scene that resembled a supernatural phenomenon.

“(Ten A)”

Just as Shinji Ogawa was still speculating, the suspended Flash Blade made a new move, its gravity-defying blade making a spinning motion around the hilt.

Ah-59

Before he could react and was caught off guard, Ogawa Shinji was struck by the spinning sword like a top and fell to the ground.

"Ogawa!"

Upon seeing Ogawa Shinji's condition, Commander Kazanari immediately rushed to Ogawa Shinji's side, reaching out to grab the hyperactive relic.

>M<

However, although he successfully reached Ogawa Shinji's side, he failed to catch the Flash Blade that had defeated him. The black and red blade danced in the air, gracefully avoiding Commander Kazanari's capture.

"What exactly happened? This relic can only be studied by Zi. Wait, where is Zi?"

Commander Fengming thought to himself.

“0(≥V≦)0”

Just as Commander Kazunari was about to go find Sakurai Ryoko to study this very unique relic, he suddenly noticed that the blade, which had been spinning in the air, seemed to have found its direction and flew straight towards a certain direction.

"Wait, wait a minute, this thing can actually run away!?"

Upon seeing this, Commander Fengming immediately stood up; he couldn't let such a dangerous relic escape.

"-----"

However, things once again exceeded Kazanari Genjuro's expectations.

At that moment, the relic that he thought was trying to escape stopped next to a female member of Section 2 wearing a black suit after moving a certain distance.

Then, the black and red blade, like a large pet dog, circled around the woman who appeared to be an employee of Section Two.

"What exactly is going on?"

This bizarre scene caused cold sweat to break out on Kazanari Genjuro's forehead, and a terrible possibility involuntarily appeared in his mind.

"well-

"The girl, who seems to be an employee of Section Two, sighed helplessly after Flashblade made such a move."

"Honestly, can't you just bear with it for a little while? If you just bear with it for a little while, I can take this opportunity to temporarily disappear from the Second Section's sight."

"She seems to be a girl from Section Two," she said softly, raising her finger and gently tapping the flashing blade circling around her to stop it.

"So, you really are Zero."

This performance confirmed the terrible suspicions in Kazanari Genjuro's mind.

"Wait, Mr. Fengming, what did you say? Impossible! How could she be Miss Lingyi? Miss Lingyi... wasn't she just attacked by Miss Yi...?"

Before the girl, who seemed to be an employee of Section Two, could answer, Tachibana Hibiki suddenly rushed over from nowhere and said excitedly.

She was initially drawn to the flashing blade's movements, but when Commander Fengming uttered those words, for some reason, she stepped forward and couldn't help but say the same thing.

Because if Zero really survived Kazanari Tsubasa's attack, then what have all of Kazanari Tsubasa's battles and efforts been worth?

To fight so hard for justice, to pay such a painful price and to use such attacks, only to end up achieving nothing—this must be too tragic for Kazami Tsubasa.

"Well, although I really want to say that Hibiki Tachibana is right, I don't think Mr. Kazunari would believe me. Even if he did, I might not be able to keep my identity after the strict investigation."

"The girl who seems to be a staff member of Section Two," namely Rei, completely ignored Tachibana Hibiki's feelings and said such a thing to herself.

While shattering the last remaining illusions in Tachibana Hibiki's heart, it also planted deep fear and despair in her heart.

“(w°…)”

"So, that's it."

Then, Zero reached out and grasped the hilt of the Flash Blade that had been affectionately rubbing against her.

The next moment, the girl in the black suit with an unfamiliar face disappeared in the light, and in her place was a cute girl with long platinum blonde hair, wearing a military uniform and black stockings, and a technological device hanging on her right eye.

"So, what Kazanari Tsubasa destroyed before was something like a Stand?"

Commander Fengming calmly made this analysis.

At this moment, Zero's body showed almost no signs of battle. If it had been Zero's true form that was on the field, she could not have survived Kazami Tsubasa's final song unscathed.

"Well, that's how it is. I used a Stand like that."

Lingyi said casually, and at the same time, a portal appeared beside her. Under the watchful eyes of the two, several bumblebee floating units flew out. These bumblebee floating units gathered together and soon transformed into the familiar figure of Lingyi.

"Perfect timing, I'm in a good mood today, let me introduce it to you. This is something I achieved through various unorthodox technologies. It's the Level 1 Yellow Floating Unit, which can generate a projection that, while lacking combat power, is a one-to-one copy of my body."

Lingyi said.

"Ah, ah, ah!"

Hibiki Tachibana didn't know what to say.

At this point, no matter how much she tried to deceive herself, Hibiki Tachibana could no longer maintain her flawed idea. She even realized that Zero had completed the exchange of her body and Stand in the smoke during the fight with her.

P.S. Good afternoon.

Chapter Sixty-Six: Ignoring

In the dim light of night, a girl holding a black and red blade stands alone in the post-war ruins. Before her are two people with different expressions.

'Tachibana.'

Commander Fengming noticed the despair in the girl beside him, but at that moment, he didn't have much energy to care about her.

Although Lingyi hasn't shown any hostility yet, if we ignore her, she probably wouldn't mind causing them some trouble.

"Hmm, it seems she hasn't adapted to high-intensity combat yet. Even at this level, her mentality is already this unstable."

Rei looked at Tachibana Hibiki, who was trembling all over but could no longer muster any strength, and made this assessment.

"What, you still want to take Tachibana away now? Then you'll have to step over my body first."

Kazanari Genjuro stepped forward, shielding Tachibana Hibiki behind him, separating her from Rei. Tachibana Hibiki currently lacked the will to fight against Rei.

“Take away Tachibana Hibiki? No, no, no, you misunderstand. Although I haven’t given up on completing my mission, realistically speaking, I would have been unable to complete it today when Tachibana Hibiki went berserk.”

Faced with Kazanari Genjuro's wary behavior, Zero simply stroked her Flash Blade while denying his question.

"What did you say?"

Kazanari Genjuro asked reflexively.

"It's just the literal meaning. After all, your weakness came too suddenly. Even I didn't have time to make many preparations. On top of that, there was the unexpected incident of Tachibana Hibiki going berserk. No matter how hard I try, it's impossible to perfectly take Tachibana Hibiki away."

Lingyi added.

According to her calculations, her remaining weapons were just enough to deal with any unexpected events that might occur during the capture of Hibiki Tachibana. However, Hibiki Tachibana's rampage forced her to use more equipment than expected, which caused the risks of forcibly taking Hibiki Tachibana away and preserving her after capture to rise sharply.

"So, when Tachibana Hibiki went berserk, I had already given up on taking her away. The rest of my actions were just to achieve my second goal, which was to induce Kazanari Tsubasa to use the Last Song, thereby reducing your combat power and collecting some data about the Last Song."

Lingyi said this as if in casual conversation, fully explaining her previous objectives to the group.