Sky Striker Princess, but the swan song of Valkyrie.

"Um, may I ask, Zero-chan, did you notice anything about me, about the fusion with the relic?"

Hibiki Tachibana asked, curious about what Rei had gotten out of all that effort.

"I've figured out a lot, but most of it has nothing to do with you."

"The only thing that concerns you... well, to put it simply, Tachibana, if you keep fighting like this, you'll die."

Rei said to Tachibana Hibiki with a blank expression, just like a doctor who had issued a critical condition notice to a patient.

"Huh?"

Hibiki Tachibana's expression froze.

P.S. Good morning.

Chapter 141 Fusion Dissolution

"Haha, is Zero-chan joking? I feel perfectly healthy!"

Upon hearing Rei's alarming words, Tachibana Hibiki responded with a smile.

"I have no reason to joke. Based on my previous experiments and my recent observations, I have confirmed it."

"As Gungnir's fusion with your body deepens, your body is gradually transforming into a relic."

"Furthermore, due to the instability of the fragments, when you become a relic, your body will collapse due to the chaotic energy and the proliferation of fragments."

"This means that if you continue to use Symphogear at such a high intensity in battle, Tachibana, your lifespan will soon be cut short in the fighting."

Ignoring Tachibana Hibiki's evasiveness, Rei said with certainty, and stamped the critical condition notice for Tachibana Hibiki.

......

[...So, is that really how it is? If I continue fighting, I'll die. Haha, that sounds a little cruel.]

Having clearly realized that what Rei said was true, Tachibana Hibiki felt an indescribable sadness welling up inside her.

[To die means my existence will disappear, ha, haha, woo]

Hibiki Tachibana tried to smile, but all she could manage was a forced smile.

[There are so many things I haven't done, I just earned the right to fight alongside Miss Tsubasa, there are so many things I want to do, and yet this has happened.]

Unable to accept it, Hibiki Tachibana deeply realized the cruelty of reality and the truth that there is no such thing as a free lunch.

Great power often comes with risks. The fusion with the sacred artifact gave her power far exceeding that of a musician, allowing the newcomer to quickly develop combat abilities.

However, the price of this immense power, on the other side of the scale, was the entire life of a girl named Hibiki Tachibana.

What should I do? If I continue using this power, will I die? But if noise appears again, can I just stand there and do nothing because I'm afraid of dying?

The sudden life-or-death situation looming before her questioned Tachibana Hibiki's heart and challenged her thoughts.

No, the answer is already very clear.

The moment the question arose, Hibiki Tachibana answered it in her mind.

No, I still don't want to see people hurt by noise, and as for life, if it weren't for this power, I probably would have ended it all in the first place.

Having rekindled her resolve, Hibiki Tachibana's heart was strengthened once more; even if she were to die, she would not give up on her desire to save others.

"Zero-chan, I've figured it out. Even if I die, I won't give up the fight... Eh, why are you gone?"

Having figured things out, Hibiki Tachibana wanted to explain her resolve, but then she realized that Rei had disappeared from her side sometime during the night.

"Hmm... it's almost time. The next step is to quickly cool the reagent temperature by putting it in a cooling box for about three seconds."

Immediately afterwards, Hibiki Tachibana heard Rei's voice coming from another direction.

Upon closer inspection, Hibiki Tachibana noticed that in front of an unfamiliar instrument, Rei was handling a test tube containing a liquid that appeared to be a mixture of orange and dark green.

"Zero-chan, what are you doing? What are these liquids?"

As she walked over, Tachibana Hibiki looked at the other person's actions with some curiosity.

"Okay, done. Hmm, Tachibana, you're here. Perfect timing, I was just about to call you over to test the effects of the drug."

After noticing Tachibana Hibiki approaching, Lingyi took out something that looked like a test tube from a box emitting cold air and said this to Tachibana Hibiki.

"Is the drug also part of the experiment?"

"I asked Tachibana Hibiki."

"Pretty much. The effect of this medicine is to reduce the rapidly rising fusion degree of the sacred relic cells. Although it cannot undo the fusion of cells that have already stabilized, it can prevent the fusion degree from increasing further."

While injecting the liquid from the test tube into a needle-free syringe, Rei explained the nature of the medicine she had just prepared to Hibiki Tachibana.

"Oh, I see, blocking fusion... wait?"

Just as Tachibana Hibiki was about to let the incomprehensible words slide through her mind as usual, she suddenly realized something was wrong.

"Wait a minute, I remember you just said that my body would eventually die because of the fusion with Gungnir?"

Recalling Rei's previous account, Tachibana Hibiki asked Rei this question.

"Yes, that's right. So you understood, Tachibana. I thought you didn't understand, which is why I was standing there dumbfounded."

Rei affirmed Tachibana Hibiki's question, while expressing surprise that Tachibana Hibiki had actually understood the matter.

"No matter what, when it comes to my own life, I will listen carefully and think it over..."

As Tachibana Hibiki spoke, she felt as if she had been offended by Rei in some way.

"So, just as I thought, the medicine you're making now, Zero-chan, can solve my health problem, right?"

Then, Hibiki Tachibana asked Rei this question, while her tense body relaxed.

"To clarify, it's not a solution, it only alleviates the symptoms. This medicine cannot completely separate you and Gungnir; it can only clear up the temporary increase in fusion."

"In other words, if you want to survive in this world while fighting, you can try injecting this medicine after the battle."

Rei made a slight correction to Hibiki Tachibana's words and carefully sealed the medicine in the needle-free injector.

"Zei-chan... I don't know how to thank you enough. I feel like I've been receiving your help ever since I came here."

Hibiki Tachibana said with great gratitude.

"There's no need for that. This was agreed upon beforehand. I won't put your life in danger, so naturally I'll have to find a way to address the harm that the increased fusion level is causing to your body."

Lingyi said matter-of-factly, after all, it was just something she did on the spur of the moment, and she could also test the effects of the drug at the same time.

"Yes, yes, I understand, Zero-chan, you're so kind."

Hibiki Tachibana said happily, stepping forward to take the other person's hand to express her gratitude.

"Please pay attention to social distancing, and you should get your medication as soon as possible. The longer you wait, the less effective the medication will be."

Having dodged Tachibana Hibiki's movements, Rei picked up the syringe in her hand and urged her on.

"Hmm, I trust Zero-chan, so, where should this medicine be injected?"

Hibiki Tachibana said, and judging from her expression, she was in a very good mood, as if she had just escaped death.

P.S. Good evening.

Chapter 142 The Rapidly Progressing Situation

After the medicine was injected into Hibiki Tachibana's chest, Hibiki felt a strong sense of weakness in her body.

This is only natural. Fusing with a relic will bring Tachibana Hibiki's body extremely powerful strength, and a decrease in the degree of fusion with the relic will also bring her body a period of relatively unbearable weakness.

Tikka Hibiki, who was in a weakened state, was temporarily unable to act on her own, so Rei took her to the room that had been assigned to her and let her rest on her own.

After settling Tachibana Hibiki, Zero's next task was to check the current state of the complete relic, Durandal.

"Hmm... Durantal's activity level seems to have increased significantly."

While checking Durandal's condition, Zero unexpectedly discovered that Durandal's condition showed a more active artifact awakening waveform for a period of time compared to usual.

"The timing of the ascent coincides with Tachibana's battle. Could it be that the string enhancement released by Tachibana's singing is more suitable, or rather, more conducive to activating Durandal?"

After analyzing the timing of Durantal's start, Lingyi made the following conjecture.

"Let's put this on the agenda later."

Lingyi thought to herself.

A few days later...

After several days of research and investigation, Lingyi has made some encouraging progress in her research on the fusion of biological relics.

[Hmm... After incorporating newly discovered human anatomy data during the teleportation process, the Warblade can now teleport human bodies. That's pretty good progress.]

Thinking about the results of her research over the past few days, Lingyi's mood improved slightly.

"Excuse me, Zero, has there been any progress in your research on that fusion case?"

While Lingyi was pondering, Finni, who was beside her, inquired about the progress of Lingyi's research.

"It went fairly smoothly, and we managed to figure out the basic principles of fusion."

Lingyi replied.

"Oh, really? In that case, the task I gave you should be almost finished by now."

"Finnie asked, a smile on her face."

"Are you referring to the relic fusion surgery? If you'd like, you can start after the physical examination. Would you like to do it now?"

Zero replied and inquired, explaining that this was one of the tasks Finne had previously assigned her: to study Tachibana Hibiki in order to grant Finne herself the powerful ability to merge with the relic.

"Then, I'll leave it to you. Use the Bronze Serpent Armor as the relic for fusion. I'm really looking forward to seeing what kind of power it will have."

Finney chuckled for a moment, then said this with a hint of eagerness.

"Okay, then you can prepare a little."

Since Finney made such a request, Zero naturally wouldn't refuse.

Not long after they had made their preparations, the two underwent surgery in a sterile room.

The surgery was, of course, a great success, given the existing research foundation, and Finney was very satisfied with the powerful strength she had gained.

"This power is really reassuring. It's hard to imagine anything that can surpass me after I've fused with the Bronze Serpent Armor, hahaha."

Feeling the powerful strength and regenerative abilities within him, Finney couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Yes, it is indeed a very strong power. Oh, right, Finney, there is something I need your help with right now that you are so strong."

After taking off her surgical gown and wiping her forehead, which was damp from the long surgery, Lingyi said to Finney.

"You want my help? Oh, is there something you can't do, Zero?"

Upon hearing Zero's request, Finnie couldn't help but ask, as if in her view, it was unbelievable that Zero needed help.

"During my research on Hibiki Tachibana, I unexpectedly discovered that the string enhancement during the opponent's battle could quickly activate Durandal. So I decided to try to see if I could get Hibiki Tachibana to activate Durandal."

“However, as you know, Finney, Durandal is not an easy relic to deal with. In order to avoid blowing up this place when it is activated, I need someone to help with the coordination to prevent any accidents.”

"I'm not very comfortable with Chris using the Bronze Serpent Armor. She can't even beat Tachibana Hibiki in her normal state. If she adds the complete relic, I feel like she'll turn the whole area into a mess."

Lingyi slowly explained to Finney, and then she noticed that as she explained, Finney's joy was already evident on her face.

"Ah, of course, it's really not good to keep making Lingyi do so much work. I should indeed help out in some areas. So, when shall we start?"

Finney immediately agreed to Zero's request, or rather, she couldn't wait to get started.

"If you're in a hurry, you can start now, because you don't need much preparation."

Zero replied in this way, and Finney immediately chose to carry out Zero's suggestion.

Soon, Rei found Tachibana Hibiki and Chris and explained the procedures for what to do next.

"Well, it's all about fighting, I understand. I'll do my best."

Hibiki Tachibana readily accepted Rei's explanation, or rather, she had already tamed herself through her cooperation over the past few days.

Whenever Rei conducts any experiments, Hibiki Tachibana always shows a cooperative attitude.

"Ha, let this guy start Durandal... Okay, I get it."

Compared to Hibiki Tachibana, Chris seemed slightly disappointed after learning of Rei's decision.

“Nana, start.”

After glancing at Chris's condition, Zero didn't say anything, but continued to prepare to activate Durandal according to the pre-arranged procedure.

"Okay, I'll do my best... Roar!"