—o—
Durandal instinctively wanted to refuse Rita’s battlesuit support, but after a glance at her current state—where any significant movement would likely lead to a wardrobe malfunction—she silently chose to accept.
Her clothes were almost completely shredded.
At this point, she had no choice but to put it on.
“You’re not going to stop me?” she asked, looking at Chiaki.
“I like to let my opponent go first.
It’s your turn.
Do as you please.” Chiaki casually twirled Jizo Mitama in his hand, his eyes fixed on a small point of light in the sky.
“Thank you.” Durandal nodded, waiting for the descent of Bright Knight: Excelsis.
Since this mission wasn’t supposed to be dangerous, the people at the Helheim Labs had hoped she would test this prototype 4th-generation Godsbane battlesuit on a couple of Titans and Honkai Beasts.
She never expected Cocolia to be so fragile that she wouldn’t even need it.
Instead, she was forced to use it here.
Making no move to interfere, Chiaki simply watched quietly as Bright Knight: Excelsis fell from the sky and merged with Durandal.
Huh?
Is he a block of wood?
What the hell is Chiaki doing?!
Kiana, Talulah, Seele, and the others fell silent as they watched Chiaki actually stand by and let Durandal don her Valkyrie armor.
Why aren’t you kicking her while she’s down?!
Can’t you see her clothes are ripped?
If she fought you like that, any large movement would expose her, and her already damaged clothes might tear even more.
No matter how strong Durandal is, she’s still a girl.
She’d definitely be embarrassed by that kind of exposure.
Once she’s embarrassed, she’ll be constantly trying to cover herself up during the fight, and her combat effectiveness will plummet.
Then you could just occasionally grab at her…
rather nice weaknesses, and wouldn’t victory be guaranteed?
How could someone be such a gentleman?
So much of a gentleman that he’d throw away victory itself.
Only after she had finished did Chiaki speak in a low voice.
“Are you ready?”
“Ready.
Round two.” Durandal moved her body, finding that the new armor fit surprisingly well.
They locked eyes and flashed towards each other.
In the time it took a normal person to blink, three figures were already entangled, sending showers of sparks exploding from the clash of blades.
The three of them exchanged positions at high speed, their sword and lance blurring into afterimages.
If Chiaki had been able to hold his own against Durandal before, he was now clearly on the back foot.
Yet the coordination between him and Izanagi was like an iron fortress, stubbornly holding back the Strongest S-rank Valkyrie’s storm-like assault.
Durandal exhaled.
Despite fighting one against two, she seemed much more relaxed and composed, her movements elegant and free.
She had to praise him; her opponent was very calm.
In the past, her enemies would often be caught off guard by her attacks, losing their composure entirely.
But the fighting spirit in Chiaki’s silver eyes never wavered.
I really want him to join the Immortal Blades.
“Surrender.
There’s no point in continuing this,” Durandal said, attempting to persuade him.
“No, there is a point.” Chiaki continued speaking as he swung his sword.
“Before they became Herrschers, they were ordinary people like us.
People who longed for a family, who wanted to be close to their loved ones.
Just because of the power they were born with, must we fear them, dread them, even imprison and kill them?”
“Herrschers are dangerous existences.
Every awakening is accompanied by the deaths of tens of millions of people.
Neither I nor Schicksal can allow them to run free,” Durandal retorted, her attacks not slowing in the slightest.
“That’s why I will give you—give all of you—the possibility and hope of defeating the Honkai.
Or rather, a dream.
I can give you the right to dream.
Look at Kiana.
She has already gained initial mastery over the power of the Herrscher of the Void, and that is just the beginning.
Next will be Raiden Mei, who will control the power of the Herrscher of Thunder.
And after that, the Fourth Herrscher…”
Chiaki painted a grand picture: Herrschers, who were supposed to be humanity’s mortal enemies, would become their greatest asset in defeating the Honkai.
The seemingly endless Honkai crisis would be dismantled, piece by piece.
Durandal fell silent.
Although she felt it was unlikely, the ironclad example of Kiana mastering the Herrscher of the Void’s authority gave his words a great deal of credibility.
Seeing her waver, Chiaki pressed his advantage.
“If you accept my proposal, then call out your name, and we will decide the victor with a single, all-out attack from both sides.”
The two separated once more, but this time they did not immediately clash again.
Durandal pondered Chiaki’s words.
After a long moment, she raised her lance, a glimmer of hope in her eyes.
“My name is—Bianka Durandal Ataegina.”
“Our names are—Chiaki, Izanagi, and Rin.”
Deciding to respond with her strongest attack, Durandal unleashed the full functionality of Bright Knight: Excelsis.
It was a feature still in its testing phase, but facing such an opponent, how could she not give it her all?
The Light of Royalty…
“Your armor is impressive, but you’re not allowed to use it.” Chiaki pointed Jizo Mitama at Durandal, like a duelist pointing to the card whose effect they were about to negate.
Bright Knight: Excelsis, I negate you!
A black and red aura drifted off the battlesuit just as Durandal had unleashed its full power.
The armor, once perfectly fitting and light, suddenly became heavy and unwieldy.
The full load of its complete liberation was instantly stacked upon her body.
The armor that was meant to enhance her strength now felt like Ultraman Zero’s training armor, restricting her body in every way.
Jizo Mitama was capable of emitting an ultimate virus with its own consciousness, one that could infect and erode both electronic devices and the human body.
The reason Chiaki had been chatting with the Stupid Goose was to silently spread this virus and seize control of her battlesuit, letting her activate her ultimate move only to be unable to fire it, wasting all her meter for nothing.
“I see.
So that’s what that Divine Key was for.
You were waiting for this moment.
Still, fighting in restraint armor is a novel experience.”
Although her body now felt incredibly heavy, with the load and suppression of the armor weighing on her like a mountain, Durandal didn’t believe she would lose her ability to fight so easily.
But in the next moment, Izanagi-no-Okami, standing behind Chiaki, plunged its great tachi into the ground.
A powerful shockwave erupted, causing the ground to shake violently as cracks spread through the concrete.
Earth Mother’s Supper!
Durandal, already struggling to move, tried to dodge, but Chiaki had already let out a roar and lunged at her.
The two of them fell to the ground together.
Chiaki immediately applied a cross armbar, turning his body into an iron clamp that tightly controlled her right arm, pinning it between his legs and close to his body.
Then, by thrusting his hips, he used leverage to put immense pressure on her elbow while simultaneously using all his strength to elbow her in the face.
But Durandal’s strength was simply too immense.
Chiaki couldn’t maintain the lock.
Seeing that he was about to be lifted up by Durandal with just one arm, he immediately yelled to his teammates.
“What are you looking at?!
Get over here and help!”
After a second of stunned silence, the group finally reacted.
“I’m coming to help you!” Kiana yelled, lunging at Durandal.
“I’ll lock down her left arm!”
Talulah: “I’ll get her left leg!”
Seele: “I’ll take the right leg!”
Raiden Mei: “I’ve got her head!”
Hiiragi Utena: “I’ll get—”
Chiaki: “Not everyone!
Two of you go deal with Rita!!”