Sky Striker Princess, but the swan song of Valkyrie.

When the smoke cleared, what Chris saw was Zero, who was using the thrusters on the mechanical wings behind her to slam the rampaging Tachibana Hibiki to the floor. Her expression was not good.

P.S. Good afternoon.

Chapter 103 It's terrible

Moonlight poured down from the high sky, dispelling the darkness and allowing Chris to see the situation more clearly.

Hibiki Tachibana, who had previously made her look extremely disheveled, was suddenly suppressed by Rei and pinned to the ground, unable to move for a short period of time.

"Zero... I'm sorry, I couldn't control her."

Supporting her still trembling body, Chris said with a guilty expression.

"Ah, I know, Chris, you did your best. And, report back to me later. I'll calm this beast down first."

There's not much to say about Chris.

After all, if we have to say, Chris also bears some responsibility for entrusting this job to her, since she hasn't yet realized the unknown factors that could trigger her berserk behavior in Hibiki Tachibana.

"Ooh—ah!"

At this moment, seemingly finally recovering from the dazed feeling of the heavy blow, the berserk Tachibana Hibiki began to struggle actively, swaying back and forth like a wild horse, trying to get rid of the foreign object straddling her.

Is there anything I can do right now?

Seeing Tachibana Hibiki's situation, Chris, who had personally experienced how difficult the opponent was, stepped forward, wanting to help Zero with the power of the Bronze Serpent Armor.

"No, no need. I can handle this myself. Chris, you should... go back to the manor as soon as possible."

Lingyi immediately refused Chris's help without the slightest hesitation.

Although the specifics of the battle are unclear, judging from the fact that Chris, wielding the Bronze Serpent Armor, was able to fight this guy to a standstill, it's best to send her back first.

Lingyi thought to herself.

"Wait a minute, I can still move, I still have..."

Chris tried to explain, but noticing Zero's gaze, she stopped speaking.

"Okay, I understand. I'll go back to the mansion myself."

Chris, understanding the unspoken meaning behind Zero's words, looked dejected and silently used the flight ability of the Bronze Serpent Armor to escape the battlefield.

"Phew, the troublesome person is gone, now I can focus on dealing with you."

With Chris off the battlefield and no longer needing to worry about the trouble of transferring hatred, Zero could finally focus on dealing with Tachibana Hibiki on the ground.

“Aaaaa

Seemingly unable to shake it off, Tachibana Hibiki's destructive impulses intensified, and the intensity of her struggles rose to another level.

"Compared to the last time, the berserk state is much harder to suppress. Is it because the strength, or rather the fusion rate with the artifacts, has increased, so the boost from the berserk state is also greater?"

Feeling the immense power surging beneath her like a raging torrent, Lingyi pondered this.

"However, it's not a big problem. These kinds of beasts that only have instincts are relatively easy to deal with as long as their strength doesn't undergo a qualitative change."

Lingyi thought to herself and released herself from the constraints imposed on Tachibana Hibiki.

While close combat is a relatively good way to suppress an opponent, it is still more advantageous to maintain a certain distance when facing an opponent who is also good at close combat.

"Aaa!"

Having broken free from her restraints, Tachibana Hibiki instantly found herself on all fours, her crimson eyes fixed on the culprit who had just caused her such a sorry state.

"Okay, that's it. Just focus your hatred on me and don't pay attention to anything else."

Maintaining a certain distance, Zero said this, her hands gripping the Flash Blade in her hands, standing tall in front of Tachibana Hibiki.

"!!!"

Completely unaware of Zero's movements, Tachibana Hibiki had only one thought in her mind: to destroy the person in front of her.

Click -

With the sound of the ground cracking, the black beast, on all fours, rushed impatiently like a bull in heat towards the white-gold color in its sight.

"First of all, it is important to understand that even if you go berserk, it will not change your body's organs. You will still have to rely on sight and hearing to track the enemy."

As Lingyi pondered this, a yellow and white aircraft appeared before her.

If the other party possessed normal intelligence, having already suffered a loss and being on guard, the effect would probably not be particularly good. But unfortunately, the other party does not possess such intelligence.

The next moment, the forest shrouded in night instantly became as bright as day, and the dark beast that had just charged straight at Lingyi was now spinning around in place like a headless fly.

"Even so, for you who have merged with the relic, there is a possibility of a quick recovery, but while the physical recovery may be quick, the mental response will still take time."

In the white world, just as Rei had done many times before, a sound entered Tachibana Hibiki's eardrums from a certain direction.

The beast, instinctively catching sight of its target, charged off in a certain direction. Then, when her vision returned, she saw that at the end of the direction she had attacked was a cliff.

"Alright, I apologize for calling you a beast before, because even a beast has basic vigilance and wouldn't be so easily swayed."

With tremendous effort, Tachibana Hibiki stopped her body from hurtling towards the cliff, and then, such a sound came from behind her.

Click -

At the same time as the sound arrived, Black Widow appeared from behind, accompanied by three medium-sized mechanical limbs and three small, tentacle-like ropes, as she grappled with an anchor.

At this moment, Hibiki Tachibana's old strength was exhausted and new strength had not yet been generated. In addition, having just stopped her momentum, she was standing on the edge of a cliff, her thoughts in disarray, and she was unable to make an effective response.

Although I don't understand why you had this impulse, the driving force behind your rampage ultimately comes from the relic Gungnir. Suppressing Gungnir's activity should, logically, stop it.

Rei, who was standing behind Tachibana Hibiki and had Black Widow pinned to her body with one hand, thought to herself.

The next moment, a specially designed, intense current that suppressed the activity of the relic was released into the black beast along the steel cable connecting the anchor.

"Ahhh—Ugh!"

When the current was conducted to Tachibana Hibiki, her resistance weakened instantly, and much of the blackness on her body faded away.

However, to Zero's surprise, although the rampaging blackness had faded considerably, Hibiki Tachibana still hadn't regained her senses and was still struggling haphazardly.

"Ah, now I know how you escaped from prison."

Seeing Tachibana Hibiki's movements, Rei thought to herself.

While anchoring can suppress artifacts, it doesn't rely on pure physical strength. Therefore, it takes time to break free from anchoring using physical strength alone.

"Even though Gungnir has been suppressed, the destructive impulses still haven't stopped... This is a terrible situation."

Looking at Tachibana Hibiki, who was crackling with electricity and tearing at her anchor, Rei had a headache.

P.S. Good afternoon.

Chapter 104 Biting

creak-

With that sound, the Black Widow, who was tied to Tachibana Hibiki, finally gave in to the weight and was pulled away by Tachibana Hibiki using only her physical strength.

After the anchor was destroyed, the previously suppressed Gungnir regained its activity, and pitch black and scarlet colors climbed onto Hibiki Tachibana's body and eyes.

"Ugh, this is such a hassle."

[At this rate, it seems impossible to subdue Tachibana Hibiki perfectly without harming her.]

Lingyi sighed as she thought to herself.

If we disregard other factors and focus solely on resolving the other party's berserk behavior, she still has feasible solutions.

Whether she eliminates the opponent's life force through pure violence or uses her Tiger Shark Cannon to thoroughly cleanse the Gungnir within the opponent's body, which is the source of the rampage, she can achieve the goal of stopping and perfectly controlling the opponent.

[But no, we can't do that. Finney wants a living specimen fused with the relic, not a lifeless corpse, nor an ordinary human separated from the relic.]

Lingyi raised her head and looked at the full moon hanging in the quiet night sky, her eyes revealing weariness and helplessness.

“Gu-

As Rei sighed, Tachibana Hibiki, who had returned to her berserk state, once again fixed her crimson eyes on Rei.

What should I do? Should I try violence? If I beat her until she can't move, I can control her.

Stimulated by the menacing gaze that felt like a thorn in her back, Lingyi shifted her gaze and glanced at Tachibana Hibiki, who had already charged up and was about to burst forth. Some dangerous thoughts surged into her mind.

Ah, never mind, let's think of another way first. If I cripple her, I'll have to treat her afterwards, and if I accidentally kill her, it'll be even more troublesome. So, let's only resort to violence when there's absolutely no other way.

Dodging Tachibana Hibiki's reckless and thoughtless charge, Rei temporarily rejected her earlier self-destructive thoughts.

"Ha!" "Ha!" "Heh!"

At this moment, Tachibana Hibiki seemed to become irritable because her attacks kept missing.

Like a grasshopper, it flew towards Lingyi from all directions, trying to catch and eat this annoying insect.

Let's observe first and gather some information.

For the time being, Lingyi had no good ideas and could only deal with Tachibana Hibiki.

While waiting to see if the other party's rampage would stop on its own, they were also gathering information to find a solution.

"Ha ha--"

Several minutes passed, and Tachibana Hibiki, whose attacks had been dodged repeatedly, finally stopped attacking, seemingly due to physical exhaustion.

Is she taking a break? Well, she is, after all, a living being; she can't always maintain full power...

Seeing Tachibana Hibiki taking a short break, Rei thought to herself.

"Haa-"

Then, before Rei could finish thinking, Tachibana Hibiki, who had just been exhausted, suddenly found strength from somewhere and burst forward towards her.

Snap!!

[…Well, it seems that after fusing with the artifact, Tachibana Hibiki, while still a living being, also possesses the characteristic of having a continuous source of artifact energy.]

After dodging Tachibana Hibiki's charge and using the momentum to send her flying even further away with her Flash Blade, Rei thought to herself.

【…Hmm, wait a minute?】

Just then, the moment after using the Flash Blade to send Tachibana Hibiki flying, a certain possibility connected in Zero's mind.

If that's the case, perhaps it would be feasible?

Lingyi stood there, silently deep in thought.

"Hmm... Hah-"

Hibiki Tachibana, who had been sent flying, shook her head like a canine and then regained her strength, running towards Rei and pouncing on her.

Under normal circumstances, Lingyi would avoid it, and she would most likely miss her target again this time. But this time, Lingyi has a new plan.

[If fusing with a relic could grant a human the relic's characteristics.]

Seeing the beast pounce like a fierce dog, Zero focused her mind, seized an opportunity, and grabbed Tachibana Hibiki's hands with both of them.

[So, if I combine this with my Sky Blade's ability to control artifacts, along with my previous research experience on another Gungnir, and my development achievements for a higher-level Sky Blade...]

With that thought in mind, Rei pulled hard on Tachibana Hibiki's hand, using the force of her lunging attack to disrupt her balance and throw her heavily behind her.

"...Could I use my Sky Blade to manipulate the Gungnir fragments within Hibiki Tachibana's body to continuously suppress her berserk state?"

With that thought in mind, Lingyi leaned forward and pressed down on Tachibana Hibiki, who was stunned by the fall.

Then, she quickly drew the black and red blade from her waist, grabbed Tachibana Hibiki's wrists with her left hand, and pressed the Flash Blade against Tachibana Hibiki's chest with her right hand, where the Gungnir fragments were most concentrated, activating its function of controlling the relic.

It seems like it could work.

As the Flash Blade made physical contact with Hibiki Tachibana, Zero was surprised to find that, although it was somewhat difficult, she had indeed gained control over Hibiki Tachibana as an individual.

"Mmm, mmm!"

After recovering from the shock of the fall, Hibiki Tachibana tried to break free from Rei's restraints.

However, now that she has lost control of the relic fragments within her body, her struggles seem to Zero to her like a chick being caught and having no ability to resist.

[Not only did he gain control over her body, but as she struggled, the fusion with the relic deepened, and it seemed to become easier and easier.]

Rei pressed the Sky Blade against Hibiki Tachibana's chest, somewhat surprised by the result. She had never imagined that the function of simply controlling a relic would have such a strange effect under these conditions.

However, to maintain this level of control, I need to keep the Flash Blade pressed against her chest. Hmm, that's sufficient; it's convenient enough.

Lingyi thought with satisfaction.

She had originally thought that if there was really no other way, she would just increase the number of Black Widow anchors, and send in one after another as soon as Tachibana Hibiki destroyed one, until Tachibana Hibiki was tied up like a dumpling and had no strength to move.

Now that we have this method, we don't have to waste our already precious amount of weaponry.