Sky Striker Princess, but the swan song of Valkyrie.

Because they were so close, a few seconds after the operation, Lingyi received what she needed: a pair of closed, tan-colored mechanical hands.

[Yes, although due to insufficient energy, it can only be deployed in this limited state by consuming a large amount of materials after making advance preparations for alchemical element reserves, it is still more practical than conventional weaponry.]

As Zero looked at the closed mechanical hand that had come to her side, she thought to herself.

Ryouri, Kuina, Saten, and Zero are the iconic armors of Sky Striker, and also the source of their strength. After discovering the corresponding blueprints in Sky Striker, Zero has been trying to manufacture and activate them.

However, because a replacement for the key energy system has not yet been found or developed, only a portion of the armor can be used under limited environmental conditions, and not the entire armor.

[However, even a limited-edition armor that's less than 1% of the full potential can significantly boost combat power if used well, so let's leave it at that for now.]

With that thought in mind, Lingyi began to control the robotic arm.

[Originally, this action was necessary because of a lack of field of vision, forcing us to rely solely on weight and size to lock onto targets. Unexpectedly, given Tachibana Hibiki's unexpectedly superior strength, it has this new purpose.]

With this thought in mind, Zero opened the mechanical arm, revealing the bewildered black-haired girl inside.

"Hey, Hibiki Tachibana, before you continue fighting, why don't you take a look at this?"

Then, before either of them could react, Zero stopped Noise's actions and pressed the black and red knife against Kohinata Mirai's delicate neck.

"The future, why, why is the future here!?"

Zero's movements successfully attracted Tachibana Hibiki's attention, and this completely unexpected event caused her pupils to dilate violently.

"What happened? Why did Hibiki become like that? And what is this... huh?"

On the other side, Kohinata Mirai, who has finally seen the light of day again, is also thrown into a state of inexplicable confusion after feeling the warm blade pressed against her neck and seeing the user of the blade.

"Alright, Hibiki Tachibana, I'll give you thirty seconds to decide whether to surrender now or continue fighting."

"If you surrender, shatter this teleportation gem and enter the cage I've prepared for you. If you continue fighting, I'll oblige, but I can't guarantee your life."

"So, Hibiki Tachibana, what is your choice?"

Ignoring their panic, Lingyi, after completing the preparations, immediately and concisely stated her requirements.

At the same time, she gently tossed the red crystal-like object she had taken from her clothes to Tachibana Hibiki, who was still in a daze.

【future!!!】

An overwhelming pain and regret, far exceeding anything Hibiki Tachibana had ever experienced, proliferated in her mind, and the intense spasms almost made her want to vomit.

"Is the future a consequence of my actions...? If I hadn't kept it from the future, if I had been stronger, things wouldn't have turned out this way."

The heavy pressure from within caused Tachibana Hibiki's fighting spirit to visibly decline.

She couldn't imagine what she would become or what kind of pain she would feel if her best friend got into trouble because of her.

P.S. Good evening.

End of Chapter 95

"Choose: submit to me and spare your friend's life, or continue fighting even at the risk of your friend's death."

In the dimly lit underground space, a girl dressed in yellow and white armor is facing a difficult and painful choice.

"Huff, huff, ha!"

Torn between her inner struggles, Hibiki Tachibana's breathing quickened. Although she wasn't fighting, she felt her body was in even more discomfort than when she had just been fighting.

I never imagined the price of battle would be so heavy.

As Hibiki Tachibana thought this, her heart pounded, and the world seemed to darken.

How could I possibly choose between the future and everyone's expectations? They are all clearly very important things.

Choosing to give up means that all of the second lesson and all of one's efforts have become futile, but choosing to continue fighting means that the other side of the scale is the life of someone very important to one's life.

There was no choice; Tachibana Hibiki didn't want to give up either side.

"Twenty seconds left. Don't try to stall for time. If this plan doesn't bring me enough benefits, I will use other plans, of course, plans that don't guarantee her survival. Okay, ten seconds left."

Lingyi's words interrupted Tachibana Hibiki's painful thoughts, pulling her back to reality.

Although Hibiki Tachibana seemed to be in great distress, Rei didn't intend to wait for her to finish her struggle. The reason she tried this method was for efficiency, and if the efficiency didn't meet her expectations, she would immediately switch to the next method.

"Wait, wait a minute, I'll think about it right away!"

Hibiki Tachibana realized that although this was a difficult choice that required a lot of thought, Rei didn't intend to give her time to be sentimental.

"Five seconds left, five, four..."

Ignoring Tachibana Hibiki's words, Rei continued to act according to her plan and began counting down.

[In the future... Miss Tsubasa, Master, everyone, I'm sorry, I'm still too weak.]

Perhaps after careful consideration, Hibiki Tachibana will be able to strengthen her resolve, and maybe after putting on some tragic drama, she'll unleash her full potential.

But under the immense pressure of the extremely short time given by Rei, Hibiki Tachibana was unable to figure it out.

Therefore, she could only make her most instinctive choice, the only answer, which was to exchange her life for the life of her dearest friend.

"I understand, I will do it!"

After making a decision in an instant, Tachibana Hibiki immediately picked up the red crystal that Rei had thrown to her and threw it hard on the ground.

"ring?"

Half a minute had passed, not even enough time for Kohinata Mirai to figure out what had happened, when she saw Tachibana Hibiki make that move.

"Is that so... I'm just giving you a friendly reminder, this kind of teleportation is not very stable. It's best not to move around during the teleportation process, otherwise I can't guarantee that you will still be alive after you are teleported there."

Seeing that Hibiki Tachibana had made her choice, Rei kept her promise, removed the Flash Blade from Kohinata Mirai's neck, and thoughtfully gave Hibiki Tachibana instructions on how to use the teleportation crystal.

"I'm sorry, in the future, I may have to leave for a while... oh no, wait, maybe it might be forever. Anyway, don't worry too much about me, Future."

Having made this choice, Hibiki Tachibana forced a smile and said this to her best friend.

"Wait... what happened, Hibiki!?"

Although Hibiki said that, Kohinata Mirai, who hadn't grasped the current situation, had no way of understanding it.

She stood up, trying to grab the other person's hand, but before she could do so, a flash of red light appeared, and the girl in yellow and white armor vanished from the space.

"Why……"

Seeing this incomprehensible scene before her, the intelligent girl with black hair slumped to the ground, her mind filled with too many questions.

Why was Hibiki Tachibana captured by the robotic arm, and why was she also taken underground by it?

Why is there such a large space underground, and such a large amount of noise?

Why is Tachibana Hibiki wearing strange armor, and why does she disappear with a sorrowful expression after shattering a crystal?

[Also, why would someone she knows, someone who has shown her kindness, appear here in this manner, and seemingly be hostile to Hibiki?]

Countless thoughts swirled in the mind of this frail young girl. Knowing nothing, she couldn't understand the key to these things, and all that remained in her heart was immense confusion and helplessness.

"call

On the other side, seeing that the teleportation had been successfully completed, Lingyi relaxed a little.

Now that the most important task has been completed, Lingyi no longer needs to be too tense and can give herself a little rest.

"Is that all? The countermeasures we considered for the two possible scenarios afterward were completely useless." 59

Lingyi thought to herself, and then sent a message through her Flash Blade to close the portal she had secretly opened behind Tachibana Hibiki.

One of them was prepared by her to prevent Tachibana Hibiki from going berserk. Once she detects any signs of Tachibana Hibiki going berserk, the portal will activate Black Widow's Anchor Level 1 at the right time, seizing the gap between her emotional breakdown and berserk state to stop the berserk state and complete the capture at the same time.

Another plan she prepared was for Hibiki Tachibana's alternative choice. If Hibiki Tachibana chose to fight, she would throw Future out to attract attention, and then the portal would fire a Tiger Shark Cannon Level 1 that would only damage artifacts and not humans, attacking Hibiki Kohinata in order to temporarily eliminate her combat power without harming Hibiki Tachibana.

"The main reason is probably that we didn't expect Tachibana Hibiki's will to give in so quickly, or rather, we underestimated the importance of Kohinata Mirai in Tachibana Hibiki's heart."

With these thoughts in mind, Lingyi glanced at Kohinata Mirai beside her. She seemed to have been greatly shocked, as the other girl was still slumped on the ground and had not gotten up.

"Ah, let's prepare for the recycling work first."

"First, I need to eliminate as many traces of myself as possible here to reduce the possibility of intelligence leaks."

"Then put those noises back where they belong. Littering is not a good habit."

"Oh, right, we also need to get this girl to the surface. This place is quite well hidden; we can't just leave her here like this."

Withdrawing her gaze from the black-haired girl on the ground, Lingyi muttered to herself as she prepared to enter the final stage and carry out a series of wrap-up tasks.

"Okay, let's begin. Let's wrap things up properly, then take a break. Not resting for too long will eventually affect our work efficiency."

With that thought in mind, Lingyi turned around and prepared to leave.

"Wait a minute, Lingyi, are you Lingyi...?"

However, just as she was about to do so, Lingyi felt her hand being pulled by someone who had been slumped on the ground, while saying this.

P.S. Good afternoon.

Chapter Ninety-Six: Capture Complete?

The Western-style mansion with its blue-tiled roof was Finney's stronghold. In a flat area in its backyard, a dozen meters below, was a brand-new, dark room that had just been completed.

Inside the room, Xueyin Chris, holding the unfurled bronze serpent armor and wearing a magic bow pendant around her neck, slumped impatiently on the table.

Ugh, so annoying. Zero said something like, "Wait here three nights from now, and when you see Bio-Relic Fusion Case 1 emerge from the room, activate the device and put on the snake armor to subdue her," and then he just disappeared for three days. Am.

Looking at the red button on the wall near the light switch, the white-haired girl muttered to herself in annoyance, then listlessly took a snack from the pile of snacks she had brought down and stuffed it into her mouth.

"Amu, I wanted to take the time to get to know Lingyi better, but she's been gone for three days. Is that girl using work as an excuse to avoid spending time with me?"

After swallowing her snack, Chris looked sullen as the following thought popped into her mind.

"No, that's not right. Lingyi shouldn't do that. Ah, although I'm not happy to accept this fact, Lingyi shouldn't disrupt her normal plans for such a trivial matter."

However, Chris immediately dismissed the idea.

"So, she really thinks that in order to capture that guy, she has to go to the designated location and lie in wait three days in advance?"

Finally, Chris reluctantly came to this conclusion.

"Alright, since it's a necessary action, it's not unacceptable."

Chris thought this through, convinced herself, and then calmed down, focusing her attention on the tasks Lingyi had assigned her.

Boom Shadow 1

"Ugh, no, it still doesn't feel right."

Chris slammed her hands on the table, stood up, and looked at the empty room that had nothing but herself. She felt extremely unhappy.

"Let me do something, okay? Am I really that useless? Why do you have to leave me here all alone? Damn it, I'm not alone, and I won't be alone again."

Feeling irritable, Chris vented her bad emotions without even knowing what she was saying.

"Huff, huff-"

After venting her frustration, the white-haired girl, puffing up her cheeks, looked toward the platform enclosed by a glass curtain wall, which was where Rei had told her Tachibana Hibiki might appear.

"Ah, it's decided. Fusion Case Number 1, right? I hope you don't disappoint me. Show some backbone, then I'll have a legitimate reason to beat you up and show them that I'm capable too..."

Raising her bronze serpent armor, Yukine Chris was ready to take her anger out on Tachibana Hibiki if she showed up and resisted.

"...Oh, wait, it's here?"

Then, just as Chris made this decision, a red light emanated from the platform she was looking at, and the figure of a girl with flaxen hair wearing yellow and white armor emerged from it.

"Bronze Serpent Armor!"

Chris, realizing what was happening, immediately donned the Bronze Serpent Armor.

“I will take care of Fusion Case No. 1.”

Wearing the Bronze Serpent Armor, Yukine Chris excitedly pressed the button on the wall as Zero had instructed.

Then, the instant Chris pressed the button, thick red mist erupted from an inconspicuous device resembling an emergency fire extinguisher on the ceiling of the area enclosed by the glass curtain wall.

At the same time, several tiny grappling hooks suddenly flew out from around the platform, clinging tightly to the girl's armor and continuously transmitting something like electricity to her body.

"Ugh-----Ugh, this feeling is terrible, I can't muster any strength."

Then, in front of Chris, who was preparing for battle, the girl who had just been teleported over struggled a few times before collapsing weakly into the glass-walled cell.

"This... Ah, haha, I knew it would be like this."

Looking at Fusion Case 1, who was almost completely powerless, and Yukine Chris, who was covered in bronze serpent armor, his expression instantly changed from excitement to boredom.

In the end, her combat abilities were completely useless; under Lingyi's arrangement, it made no difference whether she was there or not.

"So, we've captured this guy. Now that we've done it, Zero should be back soon. Oh, right, now that we've caught him, Finney, who's been gone for who knows how long, should be back soon too."