[MAX HAZARD ON!]
Along with that electronic sound, Zi-O starts to spew a black, mist-like substance from his armor.
"Execute, Rose's Fingertip Rhododaktylos," Astarte commands, and Rhododaktylos moves—but Zi-O has already appeared right in front of it.
"!"
Astarte can't keep up with that speed.
Zi-O, now a black instrument of violence, brings down a raised fist. Rhododaktylos is knocked down again by that single attack.
Once it's down, it's over. Zi-O gets into a mount position and pummels it with a flurry of kicks and punches.
Astarte somehow manages to throw Zi-O off by manipulating Rhododaktylos.
Zi-O deploys the Hawk Wings in mid-air and stops. He then raises the Hawk Gatlinger.
"!"
The only thing that has changed is that his blows have become bullets. The same weapon is now incomparably more powerful than it was before the Hazard form.
In the end, Astarte can't do anything but watch her magical power being chipped away.
The outcome of this battle was decided from the start.
---------
The mechanized soldier Kagetane barely manages to cling to consciousness, despite injuries that would have caused a normal person to go into hemorrhagic shock.
But he can't move a single finger. The only thing that moves is his blurry vision.
What he sees in his line of sight is Zi-O rampaging with power equal to—no, even greater than—Astarte's Familiar.
A killer machine that thoroughly destroys all threats, regardless of whether they're friend or foe.
Zi-O, who continues to attack without even making a sound, is truly a machine for combat.
At the overwhelming sight, Kagetane's mouth, which shouldn't be able to move, opens.
"I want it."
He can't hide it in his voice.
"I want you, Shō-kun...!"
He desperately tries to move his immobile hands, seeking that power.
---------
Astarte somehow manages to regain her stance, but she continues to be at the mercy of Hazard's speed.
In the midst of all this,
"...!"
The silhouette of Rhododaktylos flickers.
This is not just the result of Hazard's attacks; it's also Astarte's problem. Using the Familiar at full power to counter the Hazard Form's attacks is taking a toll on Astarte's body.
Astarte, who is inside the Familiar, doesn't change her expression or complain, but she is dripping with cold sweat, and her face is deathly pale. She no longer has the stamina to maintain her Familiar.
Zi-O doesn't miss this opportunity.
[FINISH TIME! HAZARD! TIME BREAK!]
He soars into the air,
"---"
and unleashes a deadly Rider Kick with a flap of his Hawk Wings.
The two collide.
"!!"
Tatenashi uses her Veil of Water as a shield to protect herself from the impact.
The magical power that formed the Familiar shatters, scattering into a dazzling light.
Thud! A sound of a person falling is heard. It's Astarte, who was inside the Familiar. Her long blue hair is a mess, but,
"Ugh... ah..."
A small groan can be heard. She's in a dangerous state, but she's alive.
(Thank goodness...)
Tatenashi breathes a sigh of relief.
She had thought that a Homunculus following orders wouldn't be as guilty. She knew from the current fight that Astarte wouldn't have attacked if she hadn't been commanded to by Eustace.
If she was forced to obey by having a Familiar implanted in her, she probably wouldn't go to jail.
In addition, Tatenashi was worried that the current Shō might "overdo it."
But he managed to neutralize Astarte just right.
The two main culprits are on their last legs, but they've committed a great crime of terrorism on this island. They couldn't complain if they were killed in combat, and even a Butei or an Authority agent, who are generally not supposed to kill enemies, wouldn't be held responsible. There's no point in losing by holding back.
(Even so, Shō-kun's attacks were abnormal.)
That way he so dispassionately handled his opponent, it wasn't like the usual Shō. He had completely forgotten the purpose of stalling for time.
She had to be careful about that.
"Shō-kun."
She calls out to him, thinking that. But,
"Hey, are you listening?"
There's no way he can't hear her. But Zi-O ignores her and walks forward, toward Astarte.
He's not being considerate of the unwell Astarte... no. He's not rushing over; he's approaching her slowly.
"...Shō-kun?"
She feels something strange about his movements.
Zi-O picks up Astarte. However,
"Hey! What are you doing!?"
It's not by carrying her on his back, by holding her under her arms, or in a bridal carry.
He wraps his hands around her neck and lifts her up while strangling her.
"Ugh... a...!"
Astarte, with her airway blocked, weakly struggles. Of course, such resistance is meaningless. Astarte's consciousness starts to fade as she can't get any oxygen.
At this rate, she'll suffocate to death—or rather, her neck will be snapped first.
"Stop it!!"
Tatenashi launches a serious torrent of water at him. The attack, with actual mass in addition to magical power, pierces Zi-O's unprotected side.
Zi-O is sent flying, but he doesn't seem to have taken much damage.
He gets up and looks straight at Tatenashi.
His eyes meet hers from behind the mask. It felt like an illusion. Of course, it was an illusion. The current Shō has no consciousness; he's just eliminating the enemy in front of him.
"!"
He moves with no premonition, and a fist is thrown right in front of her. Tatenashi is barely able to dodge it because Shō's behavior is so bizarre.
"Give me a break!"
Shō doesn't reply to Tatenashi's voice. He silently closes the distance on the retreating Tatenashi and throws out sharp punches repeatedly.
Knowing that those punches have the power to destroy a Familiar, Tatenashi desperately parries them, breaking out in a cold sweat.
There's no murderous intent. These are attacks meant only to destroy the obstacle in front of him. They don't seem like the attacks of a human being. And she doesn't think this is by Shō's will either.
In other words,
"He's in a berserk state...!"
It's not unusual for Shō to transform into a form she's never seen before, but this time he was forced to transform by that man in the hood. It wouldn't be strange if some weird function was added against his will.
For example, a function that makes him kill his opponent regardless of his own will.
If she thinks about it that way, it explains all his previous movements. He was forcibly put into his current state by that man.
"I have no choice but to blow him away and make him calm down."
Just like hitting a broken TV to fix it, she has to hit him with a shock to return him to normal. The opponent who just crushed a Familiar head-on.
"Honestly... after all this is over, I have to make him tell me everything."
She mutters to herself with a bitter smile.
---------
"Ugh...?"
Yō's consciousness slowly awakens.
"Huh, what happened to me...?"
Loud sounds of destruction are still going on in the distance. The sound makes her remember what she was in the middle of doing.
"That's right. I was fighting that guy..."
The red flash and tremendous impact she saw right before. She didn't know what was done to her, but it made her pass out.
"You're a stubborn one, aren't you? You took a direct hit from my lowest output, and you're still kicking."
"!"
Yō jumps up at the voice she hears next to her.
The man in the hood was sitting right next to her.
"You...!"
Yō mutters, then immediately throws a sharp kick, but,
"Told you it's no use."
Her leg stops right before it hits the man. But despite being attacked, the man takes no action. She doesn't know if he has no intention of fighting, or if he doesn't even consider it an attack.
"Don't bother with that. Here, look."
Yō realizes it's useless to attack the man and looks at the ongoing battle as he told her to.
She had only felt the battle through sound until now, but seeing it with her own eyes is an unbelievable sight.
"Shō...?"
A transformed Shō is attacking Tatenashi. It's not a playful attack. It's an attack meant to seriously crush the opponent.
"This Hazard Form is amazing. Even I'd have a hard time just knocking a Familiar away with pure power, but he does it so casually."
"A Familiar...?"
Speaking of Familiar, it's the opponent she and Shō were fighting earlier. The one they couldn't land a decisive blow on and were just focusing on stalling for time.
It wouldn't be strange for Shō to have some secret technique, but Yō can't accept this.
As if he could read her mind, the man laughs and says,
"Ah, no, no. I was the one who made him transform. Into the Hazard Form. This thing, you see, is a dangerous artifact that appeared in a story where a hero became a murderer. It was dangerous, indeed."
"You... what's your goal in doing that to Shō?"
Yō manages to suppress her anger at the man's casual tone and asks.
"My goal is irrelevant. You don't have time for that, do you?"
"You mean because Shō will keep rampaging like that?"
"Yes. I don't know the exact abilities of the Hazard Form either, so you two might be able to do something about it... but at the very least, those two need to be treated right away, or their lives are at risk. Oh, or are they already dead?"
Shō is prepared to hurt people if necessary. But if he were to massacre people regardless of whether they're friend or foe and against his will, that's a different story.
Yō would never allow that.
"...Then, I'm going if you don't do anything else."
"I won't do anything. I promise."
The man says in a lighthearted tone.
"Go quickly. I was watching, and it seems that Tatenashi Sarashiki alone isn't enough to handle the Hazard Form. In this situation, you are the greatest trump card."
Normally, the man's words would mean that with one more person, they could do something about Shō.
But Yō feels a different meaning. She feels there's some nuance beyond that.
"What do you mean?"
"The Genome Tree. That's your ability. But you still haven't unlocked its true potential. This time, you showed a sign of growth by learning the lineage of Mirror Monsters, but that's not enough. To put it simply, you can't use it to its full potential."
"...!"
Yō bites her lip.
She felt a great expansion of her power this time. Is that still not enough? More than that, she hates that the man in front of her knows more about her power than she does.
"Don't make that scary face."
"...What do you know?"
"Is that how you ask a question, problem child? ...Whoops, just kidding. I'll tell you."
With Yō's killing intent directed at him, he holds up both hands in a surrender pose.
And then, he opens his mouth.
---------
"---"
"Guh...!"
The IS is screaming as it operates beyond its limits.
Zi-O, holding the Zikan Girade Sword Mode in his right hand and the Hawk Gatlinger in his left, closes in on Tatenashi.
She can't even escape into the Mirror World. If Tatenashi disappears for a long time, the attack might be directed at others, like the fallen and unmoving Astarte, or Yō, who still hasn't returned to the fight.
Even if she tries to use the Mirror World to attack, she's met with a superhuman reaction speed. Even if she attacks from a blind spot,
As a result, she can only use it for a moment to evade and then immediately get out to create distance.
In fact, she'd probably have been defeated already if she hadn't taken those evasive measures. The idea of shocking him to return him to normal was a pipe dream.
(I can't hold back! I have to use a powerful technique to stop his movements!)
She scatters water droplets. It's a preparation for a powerful technique. Her evasion is sloppy because she's distracted by it.
A nasty sound comes from Tatenashi's right side.
"---Ugh, guh...!!!"
She's blown away and rolls on the ground.
There's no need to check. A kick from Zi-O hit her.
The Veil of Water that she constantly wears can completely stop bullets from a high-power rifle. The IS has a system that constantly applies the optimal defensive magic to protect its wearer.
Even with all of that weakening the attack, it still caused this much damage. In fact, in this case, Tatenashi should be praised for not being incapacitated.
*(How many ribs are broken...? This is insane, truly...!) *
When she presses on her wound, she can feel that her inner suit is torn.
"But,"
She looks at Zi-O, who is slowly approaching her. His figure, silently and dispassionately trying to finish her off, is terrifying, but a smile appears on Tatenashi's face.
"...You gave me some distance."
She activates the magic she had prepared.
"---Clear Passion."
She sprays water in a mist. It's a powerful technique that instantly vaporizes the water, causing a steam explosion.
The range is narrowed, but the power is at its maximum. Enough energy is generated to shake the entire block.
Zi-O, who had the Hawk Gatlinger pointed at the now-standing Tatenashi, has no way to avoid it and is caught in the explosion.
The generated mist quickly clears.
Tatenashi drags her aching body to check the situation.
And what she sees is.
"He's down...?"
Zi-O is lying on the ground.
He doesn't move for a few seconds, but,
"No, way..."
Zi-O slowly gets up.
He seems to have taken damage, but he's not incapacitated.
As Tatenashi readies her weapon,
"---!!"
"!"
Something is fired at Zi-O from the side, sending him flying.
A gunshot, or rather, the sound of a cannon, follows.
"Now what...!!"
Tatenashi looks in the direction of the sound, unable to hide her frustration.
Standing there is Yō, who has a large green-colored cannon in her right hand.
"The Genome Tree. Form---Magna Giga."
--------------------------------------------
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