Sky Striker Princess, but the swan song of Valkyrie.

The smell of disinfectant wafted into her nostrils, and Tachibana Hibiki quickly noticed that the place where Kazaki Tsubasa had stopped seemed to be a place for treating the wounded.

"Wait for me here. I'll take you out of here once I'm out."

Ignoring the somewhat bewildered Tachibana Hibiki, the blue-haired girl simply left those words and walked straight into the room, closing the door behind her.

"Okay, okay."

As the door gradually closed, Tachibana Hibiki responded, seemingly to someone she wasn't talking to.

"Phew, I'm finally alive. The atmosphere just now was so oppressive."

After the door was completely closed, Tachibana Hibiki breathed a long sigh of relief, as if she had been given a new lease on life.

"But if that's the case, we'll have to worry about the future for a long time after we go back."

Leaning against the wall, Tachibana Hibiki thought to herself.

Although she received help from Miss Yi, she had already wasted too much of her time, so it was only natural that she would be allowed to leave after the curfew.

"And if I only go to sleep at this hour, I'll definitely be late tomorrow... Never mind, as long as it hasn't happened, it doesn't exist, yeah, it doesn't exist."

Hibiki Tachibana comforted herself, then turned her attention to her surroundings.

"Hmm, although it may be a bit late, this place really has that feeling of a secret organization."

Even though she had been here for some time, Hibiki Tachibana still found things here quite novel.

Whether it's the futuristic automatic iron gate that opens with a card, the glass screens scattered throughout the corridors with unclear purposes, or the female researcher in a white lab coat lying on the floor, everything exudes the atmosphere of a mysterious organization.

......

Hibiki Tachibana is deep in thought.

"Um, Ms. Sakurai Ryoko, don't sleep on the floor, you'll catch a cold!"

Seeing the female researcher who had fallen asleep on the floor at some point, breathing evenly, Hibiki Tachibana kindly stepped forward to remind her.

However, Hibiki Tachibana's calls did not wake Ryoko Sakurai. Under her gaze, Ryoko Sakurai simply turned over and fell into a deep sleep again.

"Miss Liaozi, Miss Liaozi!"

With no other option, Hibiki Tachibana walked over to the woman she knew and shook her vigorously in an attempt to rouse her from her daze.

"Waaah... Please let me go, let me sleep a few more minutes... You could have just decided on the defenses for me... I'm so sorry, I'm really sorry that all I can do is cheat with unorthodox techniques..."

After being shaken like this for a few minutes, and bobbing back and forth between consciousness and unconsciousness several times, the woman on the ground opened her sleepy eyes, mumbling something that Tachibana Hibiki couldn't quite understand.

"That's great, Miss Liaozi, you're finally awake. Really, although I know you've been working a lot lately, you don't have to push yourselves so hard."

Seeing that Sakurai Ryoko seemed to be alright, Tachibana Hibiki breathed a sigh of relief.

"Work, yes, it's really a lot of complicated work. Even a capable woman like me would be exhausted to the point of fainting."

Sakurai Ryoko, who had just woken up, spoke with a tired but forced smile.

"Work... Speaking of which, Ms. Sakurai Ryoko, what kind of work do you do before you fall asleep?"

Hibiki Tachibana asked, because she noticed that Sakurai Ryoko had fallen in the direction of the automatic door that Kazanari Tsubasa had just entered, as if she was going to do something.

"Oh, right, I was going to check on Xiaozan's physical condition earlier."

Reminded by Tachibana Hibiki, Ms. Sakurai Ryoko suddenly remembered the work she had to do before falling into a deep sleep, and then tried to get up and go to that room.

"Kanade... wait, could it be that this is Kanade-san's convalescent room? So, is Tsubasa-san here to visit Kanade-san?"

Hearing what the girl said, and seeing Kazanari Tsubasa's actions, Tachibana Hibiki realized the function of this room.

"That's right, but you said Tsubasa... Tsubasa came to visit Kanade again."

Ryoko confirmed Tachibana Hibiki's statement, and realizing that Tsubasa was now in the room, she stopped heading towards that room.

"What's wrong, Miss Liaozi?"

Seeing that the girl had stopped, Tachibana Hibiki was puzzled.

"Well, since Tsubasa is inside, it wouldn't be good for me to go in now. Don't let Tsubasa's appearance fool you, she's actually a very fragile child who cries easily. If someone sees her like that, hmm~"

"Oh, a crybaby? Miss Tsubasa!"

Hibiki Tachibana was incredulous upon hearing Sakurai Ryoko's explanation; she simply couldn't reconcile the words "crybaby" and "weak" with the current Tsubasa Kazanari.

"That's right, let me tell you, the old Yue.Yi San Shi Ling 2 Bar Si Yi was..."

Seeing Tachibana Hibiki like this, Sakurai Ryoko approached her with a gossipy look on her face and said something, while Tachibana Hibiki showed an expectant expression.

buzz

Just as Ryoko was about to have a heart-to-heart talk with Tachibana Hibiki, the mechanical door in the room next to theirs suddenly opened.

Not long after, Kazanari Tsubasa, expressionless and wearing a school uniform, appeared at the door and saw Sakurai Ryoko and Tachibana Hibiki whispering to each other.

What are you doing?

Kazanari asked, and upon seeing Kazanari come out, Sakurai Ryoko showed a regretful expression and quickly left Tachibana Hibiki's side.

"It's nothing, I just wanted to give Tachibana some adult life experience, but since you've taken care of things, Tsubasa... I'll go in first."

Ryoko answered, then walked past Kazami Tsubasa and entered the room she had just come out of.

"However, Tsubasa, I suggest you have a proper talk with Hibiki. If you keep your thoughts to yourself, you'll become a super rigid and boring child."

Buzz-

As Ryoko entered, the mechanical door slowly closed, leaving only Tachibana Hibiki and Kazanari Tsubasa in the outer corridor.

Chapter Thirteen: Past Events

“Let’s talk to Tachibana…”

After hearing Miss Zi's words, Feng Mingyi remained silent for a while, seemingly deep in thought.

"Um, Miss Yi, are we going back now?"

Seeing that Kazunari Tsubasa remained silent, Tachibana Hibiki, unable to bear the silence any longer, took the initiative to ask.

"Let's go back. Since I've promised to take you out of here, I won't go back on my word. Let's go, Tachibana."

After glancing at Tachibana Hibiki, who seemed somewhat at a loss for what to do, Kazanari Tsubasa said this, then turned around and walked in one direction.

"Ah, yes, Miss Tsubasa."

Upon seeing Kazanari Tsubasa take such action, Tachibana Hibiki immediately followed suit.

"Um! Miss Tsubasa, may I ask you some questions?"

To prevent the atmosphere from becoming too oppressive like before, and also because she herself had many things she wanted to know, Tachibana Hibiki decided to take the initiative to bring up some topics.

"Um... OK."

After hearing what Tachibana Hibiki said, Kazanari Tsubasa hesitated for a moment before agreeing to Tachibana Hibiki's suggestion.

"Miss Yi just went to visit Miss Kanade. Um, I want to know how Miss Kanade is doing now. I only heard that she was seriously injured, and that she was beaten by Miss Lingyi."

After receiving permission, Tachibana Hibiki asked this question.

Although she learned some general information from the previous conversation, such as Rei injuring Kanade, Rei stealing something very important, and Kanade being seriously injured, she still did not understand the whole story.

"Is that so? Do you want to know these things?"

As Feng Mingyi said this, he stopped in front of an elevator door and pressed the up button next to it.

"Yes, I want to know."

Hibiki Tachibana, who had also stopped to wait for the elevator, said this.

"...It all started two years ago with the 'Twin Wings' concert. On that day, in order to obtain enough string boosts to activate the Bronze Serpent Armor artifact, Kanade and I held the 'Twin Wings' concert."

While waiting for the elevator to arrive, Kazami spoke.

66 “‘Double Wings’, that’s the concert where I was rescued, right?”

As Kazanari Tsubasa spoke, Tachibana Hibiki also recalled the concert that had also greatly changed her.

"At first, everything was normal. The concert started as planned, and Kanade and I were immersed in the atmosphere. Just when I thought it would end peacefully... with an explosion in the center of the venue, countless noises surged into the concert hall."

"Then, in order to protect the people, Kanade and I loaded up our Gears and began a fierce battle against the noise. Then, perhaps to prevent the noise from spreading into the city, Kanade used her ultimate technique."

Kazanari Tsubasa continued recounting the concert, while Tachibana Hibiki noticed that Kazanari Tsubasa's expression was becoming increasingly unpleasant.

"Um, Miss Yi, if it's very painful, you don't have to say anything."

With some regret, Tachibana Hibiki said in a worried tone, she hadn't expected her question to cause Tsubasa-san so much pain.

"Don't worry, Tachibana. If I can't even overcome the pain of these memories, then I'm not worthy of being a protector of the country."

Suppressing the pain in her heart, Kazanari Tsubasa continued to recount the events of that day to Tachibana Hibiki.

"Swan Song is a means to unleash the power of the Symphogear armor, but using it will place a huge burden on the user, and in severe cases, it can endanger their life. Therefore, Swan Song can also be said to be the final song of burning life."

As she spoke, Feng Mingyi's thoughts returned to that day, the day she could least forgive herself for.

She remembered clearly the pain in her heart when that crimson figure holding a long spear sang the final song amidst the carbonized dust of noise, and the shameful relief in her heart when the final song was interrupted by the black anchor.

She remembered the scene as...

Who are you!?

"I speak weakly, leaning on my spear," said Ameyu Kanade, asking the question of the golden figure that suddenly emerged from the ground during her final performance and bound herself with a strange anchor upon seeing her.

[So that's how it is, you used the Last Song to clear away this noise...]

But the blonde girl didn't answer Zou's question; she just talked to herself.

[Tch, what a busybody... Oh well.]

The blonde girl completely ignored Amayu Kanade, and simply picked up the transparent container in her hand to check it.

Wait, that's the Bronze Serpent Armor.

At that moment, Kanade Amaga also noticed the transparent container in the other person's hand and saw the strange object that was tightly wrapped up and that she recognized.

Could it be that you're the mastermind behind all this noise?

Amane Kanade guessed this, but still received no response from the blonde girl.

[Have you tacitly agreed? How despicable! Do you even realize how many innocent people have been killed or injured because of your actions?!]

Unable to get a response, Kanade Amagusa, despite her weakened state, charged towards the golden figure with inner rage.

[To be willing to sacrifice your life for something like this, Kanade Amagami, you are truly a dangerous person. Armament request: Tiger Shark Cannon, level up.]

The blonde girl said this, then easily dodged Kanade's attack, and at the same time casually took out a double-barreled cannon that was half a person tall from the polygonal portal that had appeared behind her.

【What?! How awful!】

Under the unwilling gaze of Amayu Kanade, she was trampled underfoot by the blonde girl. Her weak body made it difficult for her to get up, which was an undeniable defeat.

[Tiger Shark Cannon, Level 1.]

Without any unnecessary movements, after summoning the double-barreled cannon, the blonde girl manipulated it to aim at the immobilized Ame no Kanade, while simultaneously charging the cannon.

【Play!】

At the same time, because I was entangled by noise, I could only watch as the orange-yellow beam of light from the double-barreled cannon was completely engulfed.

"Ah! Could it be that Miss Kanade is dead?!"

Upon hearing this, Hibiki Tachibana couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

"No, how could that be, Tachibana? Have you forgotten that I just went to visit Kanade?"

Kazanari Tsubasa refuted Tachibana Hibiki's unfounded conjecture.

"I'm sorry, I got a little too excited."

Realizing her mistake, Tachibana Hibiki apologized to Kazanari Tsubasa with some embarrassment.

"Tachibana, you're just too caught up in the moment. Actually, I also thought Kanade had been killed by her. But after the Second Section's subsequent investigation, it seemed that the beam of light that hit Kanade was more focused on the complete destruction of the heretical technology itself. Therefore, Kanade didn't lose her life; she just had to undergo a long period of treatment due to severe injuries."

A frozen hibernation of time.

Kazanari Tsubasa ignored Tachibana Hibiki's slip of the tongue and continued to explain the final outcome of her close friend, Ame no Kanade, in that battle.

Chapter Fourteen: Emotions and Reflections

hiss-

As the two were talking, the elevator descended to their floor.