Chapter 692: Echo Upon the Mirror's Surface, Roar From the Skyscrapers - Part 10
Surrounded by countless gazes, four shadows remained on the stage. Me, Saina, the 「Diva」, and "me". The Final Movement is a very quiet orchestra. The "Diva" sings alone, and the two warriors fight............ That is the Final Movement, the final act where humanity from before the Divine Age displays their brilliance.
"No, no, Orchestra. It won't go like that this time."
But we're daring to thrust a "No" right back at it, because come on, right? A single singing voice is just way too dull.
To be blunt, Saina wanted to keep it hidden, but the kind of things you can hide in a hardcore idol otaku's room are pretty limited. Besides, since a Conquista Doll is directly involved in Orchestra's Unique scenario, I can pretty much guess what it's trying to do.
In other words, it means this: if I am facing off against "me," then the one facing off against the "Diva" has to be another Diva.
Us and the "Divas" facing each other on the circular stage. The spotlight pours down onto the "Diva," the ruler of this world. Setting aside myself, who was formally invited, Saina is a foreign entity and an intruder. She might get illuminated by a searchlight, but she'd never be bathed in a spotlight.
So what? We didn't come here to get depressed over something so trivial, we came here to win!!
"Authentication skipped, initiating process based on self-judgment.
Simple Storage Mechanism...... Deployment.
Ensemble Support Amplifier, Installation.
Autonomous Hovering Illumination, startup.
Photonic Virtual Wired Connection, guidance initiating......... connection complete.
Designating a one-meter radius domain centered on this unit, Elma=317.
Idol Concept Stage...... Formation!"
"Hey hey, what's with that amazing function!?"
Illuminating her own brilliance by herself. A multitude of devices emerging from the void with Saina at the center carved out just a tiny sliver of Orchestra's hostile world, rebuilding it into a stage meant solely for Saina.
"This unit stands here by this unit's own will......... For the record, this function is one of the basic features of a Conquista Doll."
"Andrew-kun......"
Not bad. Not bad at all, Andrew-kun, you get it. You truly understand the essence of romance. The living creatures known as humans are physically structured to be unable to resist the three temptations of armament deployment, full-body replacement transformations, and the appearance of giant magic circles.
A circular stage formed in the blink of an eye, flanked by massive speakers on the left and right. A drone-type spotlight dazzlingly illuminated Saina standing in the center. The Divas were all set; now the vanguards just needed to put their bodies on the line.
"From here on out, we'll be taking control of the stage!!"
Standing right here is the spitting image of a Diva! One of the petals that bloomed in full glory aboard the star-faring ship!! Who cares if it's an artificial flower; if you want a scent, go stick an aroma candle in it or something!!
"Initiating installation: Ready at any time."
"Reverberating Nether, you're not half bad as a rival! But over here we've got the song of the flower echoing through the stars! Come on, Orchestra, let's have a Red and White Song Battle!!!"
Whether the system read the mood using my words as a signal, or if it was just pure coincidence. Sure enough, the exact moment I shouted, the two Divas raised their voices simultaneously.
「『La──────」』
What a beautiful-sounding blank shot, but both I and "me" received that sound at our backs and dashed forward simultaneously. His stats slightly exceeded mine, meaning he would take the initiative......... No!!
"Initiative Dash!!"
If "Sunraku" was going to pull out a straight sword that looked like Areadbhair, I would deploy STING! I'll close the distance with my firing range and take the initiative! Blow straight through his skull along with that trypophobia-inducing mask, Javelin!!
The running start was a bluff; the foot I stepped forward with caught my momentum and braced firmly. Pointing the crossbow-shaped long rifle,
I thrust it directly at "Sunraku" and unleashed a single, penetration-specialized bullet.
However, the situation mutated in a completely different direction than I had anticipated.
『............』
"Ngh!?"
I wasn't surprised because "Sunraku" evaded the warhead; I was surprised because I noticed an anomaly occurring behind him, and behind me.
『La───, La, La───』
"───Far away, so far away, I dreamt of the figure from those days of yore."
The melody of the "Diva," constructing this world with pure, lyric-less sound. Resounding in opposition to it was Saina's singing voice, playing words laden with emotion.
If Orchestra builds its world through song, then that means Song = World. In other words, with Saina's alternate song echoing out...... the world was currently on the verge of splitting in two.
"The glory of the past, a majestic presence scraping the heavens. Seeing off the departure, that figure remaining in the homeland."
The red carpet tore apart, unable to withstand the upheaval from below. The speakers resonating melodies to Saina's left and right unleashed a massive volume that shook the world and resisted Orchestra. Riding upon the sound was an arrogance that seemed to declare that she would be the one to paint over this world.
"That figure now lost to time, I still see it in my dreams. Rooted within my adoration is my───"
It was one of Elma Sakishima's solo tracks. Saina was unleashing her own feelings through Elma's form in a song, a heartfelt cry from a Diva resisting Orchestra.
"───Skyscraper!!!!"
Space was torn apart. The theater's canopy shattered, thrust upwards from directly below by something towering high. Visible beyond the ruined half of the theater was a starry sky, partially obscured by a skyscraper rising from the earth───
"Contractor, please, to your heart's content."
"Love it!!"
Staring down "Sunraku" as he slashed toward me, I planted my feet on the asphalt in an interception stance. STING was already tossed back into Inventoria. Completely unarmed, I stepped forward as if to welcome the blade swinging down toward my shoulder.
A half-step shift evaded the blade, and the few dozen centimeters I closed allowed my empty hands to reach "Sunraku". Reacting to the attack, I grabbed him after the evasion and threw him in a one-arm shoulder throw. This was the Seiten Style 「Sakinami」!!
"Hey hey, what's wrong! Are your signals getting crossed or something!?"
My follow-up kick missed because he rolled across the ground, and by the time his rotation brought "Sunraku's" face back toward me, he already had a revolver in his hand!
『............』
"Tch!!"
A shot fired without hesitation, but by the time the revolver was pointed at me and the trigger pulled, Eye of True World Observation had already been activated!! The slight margin generated within the accelerated time allowed me to activate an additional skill, further accelerating my evasion motion with a skill to dodge the bullet. Striking my left chest with a movement of my right arm that still felt too slow──────
Here comes the uniform speed, I'm going to press the attack from here!!
Even during Overflow, finger movements are exceptionally resistant to its effects—or rather, it's more like console operations specifically are exempt from Overflow's target...... It seems even the devs who implemented an effect with a 100% self-destruction rate still had about 10% mercy left in them.
Grasping the situation while operating the UI: the enemy was knocked down, and I was staggering backward. Both of us needed one more move to return to a perfect stance, so I'd strike with a more meaningful move and press the assault!!
Author's Afterword
Andrew-kun's Sternenblume Solo Track Review
"The masterpiece I will introduce today, which could easily be called Elma Sakishima's signature song, is 'Skyscraper'. Sternenblume itself was an idol group formed right after cultural restrictions were lifted, but among their tracks, this song—which directly sang of an adoration for the high-rise buildings constructed on the surface—drew considerable response at the time. This was largely due to the lyrics' almost death-metal-esque content singing of rebellion against the government, completely contrary to Elma Sakishima's quiet image. The song itself is close to a ballad, but the key change the moment it enters the chorus is absolutely magnificent. Given that Elma Sakishima wrote the lyrics herself, it is no exaggeration to say it stands head and shoulders above her other solo tracks as her representative piece. Among Elma's solo songs, the ones she penned herself often sing of longing for planet-specific phenomena that do not exist inside Behemoth. As a fan, seeing that hidden flame inside her calm demeanor......"
Ivory: "The conversation looped for about thirty minutes after this, so I will omit the rest from here."
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