Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? - Volume 26 - Chapter 4

The Blue Knight’s Crisis

December 31st

Elfaria and Ceilēshu were being held captive in a space fortress that Vandarion had constructed in secret. They’d been locked in a room that was kept under strict watch. All they were allowed to do was talk to each other and watch the news on the Forthorthian equivalent of a TV.

“I just hope Layous-sama doesn’t come...” Ceilēshu sighed.

With the immediate news coverage of Elfaria and Ceilēshu’s capture, the public was quick to condemn Vandarion for what he’d done, but they were divided on how he should be handled. There were those who were adamant that he should be suppressed through military force, those who called for diplomacy to negotiate Elfaria and Ceilēshu’s release, and those who were willing to cow to Vandarion for fear of what he might do to the captured empress and princess. Those were the three major voices being heard from the public, and there was a fierce debate between them all across Forthorthe. The situation had ultimately turned the spotlight on Koutarou. Experts believed that the Blue Knight’s actions at this crossroads would influence public opinion one way or another.

“Layous-sama will definitely come. That’s the kind of person he is,” Elfaria reassured Ceilēshu.

Elfaria didn’t doubt that Koutarou would come for them, because the Blue Knight she knew wasn’t the type to do nothing in a situation like this. It was just like two thousand years ago.

“But then he’ll be right where Vandarion wants him! The hope of all Forthorthe will be extinguished!”

Ceilēshu, however, dreaded the thought of Koutarou coming. With her and Elfaria as hostages, Vandarion would surely use them against Koutarou. He wouldn’t even be allowed to defend himself. The danger was clear as day. The Blue Knight would be killed, Signaltin would fall into Vandarion’s hands, and the people of Forthorthe would be devastated. And even for all of that, Elfaria and Ceilēshu still wouldn’t be released. Things would only get worse from there.

“Layous-sama should go straight to attacking the fortress, even if that means the two of us lose our lives, Your Majesty!”

Ceilēshu wanted Koutarou to subjugate Vandarion, and she wasn’t concerned about where her safety fell in that equation. If her life could buy peace for the future of Forthorthe and its people, it was a price she was willing to pay. She believed that was part of her duty as a royal, and she had been prepared for it ever since her personal fleet was unable to stop Vandarion’s raid on the palace.

“Ceilēshu-san, you resolve is splendid. As empress, I am proud of you.”

Elfaria nodded with a smile, but that wasn’t all she had to say. She then leaned in a little and spoke to Ceilēshu in a hushed voice. She didn’t want the soldiers on watch to hear her.

“However, Layous-sama will without a doubt choose a different path. He will try and placate Vandarion before making his move. And if we aren’t ready when the time comes, we’ll just be putting Layous-sama in danger.”

“Your Majesty...”

Ceilēshu opened her eyes wide in surprise. Though Elfaria was speaking softly, her words were full of confidence. There was a strong light in her eyes too. Even though she didn’t have anything to go off of, she knew exactly what the Blue Knight—what Koutarou—would do. That was proof of her absolute faith in him, and proof of their strong bond.

“Make sure you pay close attention from here on out. If you lower your head in defeat too soon, you may miss your chance. Okay, Ceilēshu-san?”

“Okay.”

Ceilēshu nodded with a serious expression, but it didn’t last long. Her somber look quickly broke down into a smile.

“You really know Layous-sama well, Your Majesty. It’s almost as if―”

You’re long-time lovers, or even husband and wife... was what Ceilēshu was about to say, but she was interrupted by an abrupt alarm blaring from the TV.

“Breaking news! Blue Knight, the ship that has been serving as the Imperial Army Fleet’s flagship, appears to be headed towards the moon unaccompanied! We’re switching over to live footage now!”

The alarm signaled an urgent news segment. Blue Knight had apparently departed for Planet Forthorthe’s moon, where its destination was inevitably the space fortress on the far side. And since Vandarion had made his demands public, the citizens all understood what that meant. The news set the entire country abuzz. What was the Blue Knight going to do when he got there? Whatever it was, it would decide the future of Forthorthe, and the citizens were understandably on edge.

“Layous-sama... He’s finally...”

“Ceilēshu-san, we don’t have much time left. Let’s put our minds to work as best we can for the sake of our Blue Knight!”

“Yes!”

Just like Elfaria and Ceilēshu, most of the nation was watching the footage of Blue Knight leaving the space station the Imperial Army had been using as a base. Quite some time had passed since it had first begun, but Vandarion’s coup d’etat was now moving into its final stage. It would either be Koutarou or Vandarion; there was no future where both could remain. Each tick of the clock was one closer to the moment when one of their names would be wiped from the annals of history.

Like Earth’s moon, the far side of the moon orbiting Forthorthe couldn’t be seen from the planet. That said, with Forthorthe’s advanced space-age technology, getting a glimpse of it was easy. However, the Imperial Army under Vandarion’s rule had blacked it out when he took over in order to keep the citizens’ prying eyes off of it. Today, however, Vandarion had called for that blackout to be lifted. Moreover, Vandarion was in a position to jam all communication in the region, or even destroy broadcast satellites and ships. But instead, he was allowing them to record and relay freely. Vandarion wanted the footage of what was going on to spread throughout Forthorthe and to reach all of the planets under Forthorthe’s influence.

“That Vandarion... He really is planning on messing up Forthorthe, isn’t he?”

Koutarou’s expression stiffened as he stood all alone on Blue Knight’s bridge and watched the news reports. Vandarion’s goal was obvious. He wanted all of Forthorthe to see what was about to happen. He’d likely even broadcast footage himself from inside the fortress. If Koutarou obeyed his commands without resistance, he could boast triumphantly. If Koutarou instead resisted, he could just kill him and show his corpse off to the citizens. He was sowing fear in order to reap the chaos it would grow into.

Any disorder among the people put Vandarion at an advantage. With the public fearful and divided, with overwhelming power like a mechanical dragon and a personal space fortress, and with the empress as a hostage, that advantage was only growing. It was likely only a matter of time before the opportunity presented itself for Vandarion to seize control of things in a dramatic reversal. But as Vandarion’s power was growing, so too was his obsession with killing Koutarou.

“In the end, the legendary hero is being used against the people to make things unstable...”

Koutarou turned off the news, adjusted Blue Knight’s course, and entered the space fortress’s port. It was so enormous that there was more than enough room for Blue Knight to dock several times over.

“Looking at this, who knows what kind of forces he still has...”

Blue Knight was using one of several ports at Vandarion’s space fortress. It was enough to house an entire fleet, and there was a chance that’s exactly what Vandarion had at his disposal. It was also possible that a portion of the Imperial Army fleet would split off and join Vandarion at some point if the situation got too grim. That was why Elfaria and Ceilēshu had to be saved before it was too late. As he used the operator’s console to dock Blue Knight’s hull with the port, the significance of what was to come truly set in on Koutarou.

Vandarion’s space fortress was silent. When Koutarou disembarked Blue Knight, there was no one around waiting for him. All he had to go on was a set of lights in the floor indicating the way. The only thing he could hear was his own footsteps. The sound of his armored boots clacking across the metallic floor coated with reinforced plastic echoed through the vast hall.

“Maybe his allies haven’t arrived yet, maybe he’s just that confident, or maybe he just doesn’t trust anyone...”

Following the guiding lights on the floor, Koutarou continued deeper into the space fortress. He’d expected to come across someone eventually, but there wasn’t a soul to be seen anywhere. Koutarou felt like the desolate fortress must be not unlike Vandarion’s heart. He could brag all he wanted about how advanced and superior it was, but in the end, it was all empty. Just walking through the place felt lonely to Koutarou.

“...So this is it, huh?”

After continuing into the heart of the fortress, switching between elevators and trams for several minutes, Koutarou ended up in front of a very large door. The door and its surroundings looked like they belonged in a temple rather than a fortress. But that might be just right for Vandarion.

Creeeeeaaak...

The ground shook as the majestic door opened from the middle, revealing an even larger, grander room behind it. Koutarou’s first impression of it being a temple wasn’t wrong. This door was simply the entrance to the temple. Beyond it were beautiful sculptures and pillars, and the floor was paved with marble. And in the center of it all—where there was usually a shrine or an altar—was a chair with a man proudly seated on top of it. Marswell Dayora Vandarion. The man who wanted to become Forthorthe’s god.

“Welcome, Blue Knight! We finally meet!”

Vandarion’s throne was built on a slightly elevated platform. Still seated, he welcomed Koutarou, but there wasn’t even a hint of friendliness in it. If anything, his tone and exaggerated gestures were aggressive. He practically radiated malice.

“Long time no see. I guess it’s been two thousand years.”

Vandarion’s current appearance reminded Koutarou of a certain person: Violbarum Maxfern. Two thousand years ago, he was the one trying to become Forthorthe’s god—just as Vandarion was now.

“What are you talking about?”

“You just remind me of a certain villain from the past.”

“Hmph, don’t compare me to some fool from the past! You won’t get your way like you did back then!”

Vandarion’s tone grew even more aggressive. As a Forthorthian himself, he too knew the legend of the Blue Knight quite well, and he couldn’t stand being compared to Maxfern. That only made them seem more similar to Koutarou, but Vandarion couldn’t appreciate that.

“Do you think you can win, Vandarion?”

“Think? I know I will! There’s nothing you can do against me! Granado, bring out the women!”

ROOOAAAAAR!

With a loud roar, a massive silhouette appeared behind Vandarion. It was a giant mechanical dragon over thirty meters tall: the Elder Dragon Type Two. Granado had built it to be Vandarion’s ultimate weapon. The giant dragon walked around Vandarion and stepped forward. At the same time, the floor between Koutarou and Vandarion opened up and two pillars emerged. There was someone tied to each one.

“Layous-sama!”

“Are you okay?!”

“Elle! Princess Ceilēshu!”

Tied to the pillars were Elfaria and Ceilēshu. They both called out to Koutarou when they laid eyes on him. Seeing the two like that, Koutarou instinctively tried to run over to them.

“That’s as far as you go, Blue Knight-kun. If you get any closer... you know what happens, don’t you?” Granado cautioned him.

“Tch...”

The moment Koutarou had begun running, the dragon’s claws thrust towards Elfaria and Ceilēshu. Seeing the ominous gleam of the sharp claws, Koutarou stopped dead in his tracks. Vandarion had brought out Elfaria and Ceilēshu in order to control Koutarou.

“Hahahahaha! What happened to that assertiveness of yours, Blue Knight?”

“Vandarion...”

Koutarou gritted his teeth in frustration, but he had no choice but to obey. He couldn’t put Elfaria and Ceilēshu’s lives at risk, even if it was a bluff.

“We’ll start by having you throw down that annoying sword of yours. We can talk after that.”

Without a word, Koutarou pulled the sword from his waist. Of his two swords, Koutarou had only brought Signaltin with him. Saguratin was broken and hadn’t been repaired yet. Of course, he had no intention of actually using Signaltin. If Vandarion hadn’t specifically told him to bring it, he wouldn’t have brought it either.

Clank!

As instructed, Koutarou tossed the unsheathed blade onto the floor. The next moment, the Type Two’s eyes began to glow red.

Wham!

“Uwah!”

One of the Type Two’s front legs slammed down in front of Koutarou. The mechanical dragon was so large that the force behind the stomp was terrifying. If it had hit Koutarou, he surely would have been killed. However, the Type Two hadn’t aimed for Koutarou.

“No!”

“Signaltin!”

There was anguish in Elfaria and Ceilēshu’s cries. When the dragon lifted its leg, all that was left underfoot were metal fragments—the shattered remains of Signaltin.

“How could you do this?! Vandarion, do you know what you’ve just done?!” Elfaria demanded.

She was greatly shaken. The horror was written on her face, and she openly condemned Vandarion for his actions. But she wasn’t the only one so affected. The same was true for Ceilēshu and the citizens watching live through the broadcast. They were torn at what saw. Signaltin was shattered. To the people of Forthorthe, it was like watching the country burn or the empress being assassinated. It was a devastating sight.

“Oh, I know exactly what I’ve done, Your Majesty! This is what claiming a country is all about! Stomping out the current authority and building a new authority on top of it! Who cares about the country itself?! Who gives a damn about the legends?! I am Marswell Dayora Vandarion, the man who will create a new world!” Vandarion loudly declared.

Vandarion had shattered Signaltin as a symbolic demonstration of his power. By doing that, he was showing the people of Forthorthe that he was greater than the legendary Blue Knight and the royal families of Forthorthe.

Of course, there would be backlash for how he’d chosen to do that. But even if he’d done something different, there was no denying that the people already bore a resentment for Vandarion. And since he was already disliked, he had no problem driving the point home. In fact, by making his true nature very clear, there would be those that chose to follow him out of fear.

“Even after two thousand years, you’re still after the same thing. In the end, nothing’s changed and you still rely on Signaltin.”

Only one person dared to stare Vandarion down in spite of what he’d done. It was the owner of the crushed Signaltin, Koutarou.

Two thousand years ago, the traitor Maxfern had tried to take over the country by claiming Signaltin for himself. And now the traitor Vandarion was trying to take over the country using Signaltin’s influence. There was a difference in their methods—capturing it versus destroying it—but the intention was the same. Signaltin was a tool, and both Maxfern and Vandarion believed they could use it to control the people. Koutarou was dumbfounded that hadn’t changed.

“In the end, there’s not much difference between you and Maxfern. Your head is stuck two thousand years in the past.”

“What did you say, you bastard?!”

Vandarion erupted at Koutarou’s remark. He held intense emotions towards Koutarou. Far too intense to be written off as just jealousy for the cheers that Koutarou was getting from the citizens, or the anger of having his plans repeatedly ruined. It was a furious hatred that welled up from deep in his soul. And now that he was face to face with Koutarou himself, those emotions overflowed from within. He wouldn’t stand for being made a fool of.

“If I hear any more contempt from you, I’ll teach you where you stand! I don’t need two hostages, you know!”

Grrrrr!

As if responding to Vandarion’s words, the dragon’s claws closed in on Ceilēshu. She was an important hostage, but she didn’t have the definitive influence Elfaria had as empress. That’s why Vandarion didn’t hesitate using her life as leverage to shut up Koutarou. That was just how strong his anger and hatred for Koutarou was.

“What are you getting so excited over, Vandarion? It’s just a little talk. I’m not even resisting.”

“I’m not giving you any freedom! Don’t say anything you don’t have to!”

“...I understand.”

Koutarou’s intention had been to get Vandarion to focus all of his attention on him and not Elfaria and Ceilēshu, but he hadn’t expected Vandarion to be this irritable. Now he had no choice but to obey Vandarion for fear of him exploding and taking it out on the girls.

“So let’s move on. Why did you call me here?”

“The first reason has already been taken care of. The second reason is to have you surrender.”

“Me?”

“That’s right! You are the Blue Knight, the knight of all knights! The commander-in-chief of the Forthorthe’s Imperial Army! You surrendering to me is the same as Forthorthe losing!”

As Forthorthe and the royal families had recognized Koutarou as the Blue Knight, he had the authority to command the entirety of the Imperial Army. While Koutarou was technically under the empress’s command, not even the empress had the power to revoke his authority. In that sense, he had authority equal to Elfaria’s in regards to command of the army. If Koutarou were to surrender, the entire Imperial Army under his control also would. Similar to how Koutarou and the girls had moved against Elexis and Darkness Rainbow with the power of the Blue Knight’s status, in a sick twist of fate, Vandarion was trying to hamstring Forthorthe by using the Blue Knight’s status against them.

“So that’s what you’re up to, Vandarion...”

Even if he were to threaten the empress, she probably wouldn’t surrender. Even if a princess had to be sacrificed. As empress, it was only natural she’d make that choice. But the Blue Knight was different. But by kidnapping the empress and threatening the Blue Knight, surrender might still be possible. Vandarion was broadcasting a live feed from his fortress to make sure everyone saw it when it happened.

In order for Koutarou and Forthorthe to beat Vandarion in this situation, he would have to abandon the empress and princess. But if he did that, there would be citizens who refused to support the Blue Knight any longer. If that happened, the people would be divided once more, inevitably sending the country into turmoil. That said, if Koutarou surrendered, he would be delivering Forthorthe into Vandarion’s hands. Forthorthe would suffer regardless of what he chose. Vandarion was trying to create an advantageous position for himself by imposing such an ultimatum.

“You may surrender, or you may stay here with me and watch the empress and princess be executed. Chose whichever you like! I don’t mind either way, Blue Knight!”

Vandarion was driven by his anger, hatred, and envy for the Blue Knight. If Koutarou surrendered, his pride would be satisfied and Forthorthe would be his. If not, he would execute Elfaria and Ceilēshu before the eyes of Koutarou and the citizens for his own satisfaction. Either way, Forthorthe would suffer and Vandarion would get what he wanted. He waited in a near frenzy of joy for Koutarou’s answer.

“I...”

But there was no such suspense for Koutarou. He’d come to the fortress knowing what his answer would be. He opened his mouth to declare it, but...

“You can’t, Layous-sama!”

“That’s right! You can’t surrender for our sake!”

Elfaria and Ceilēshu interrupted him. They also knew what he was going to say. Koutarou looked up at them when he heard their voices. There was a strong will in both their eyes.

“How moving this is, Blue Knight. It’s truly a tragic picture of devotion and betrayal.”

Vandarion ridiculed Koutarou and the girls. The joy of being able to trample the Blue Knight and the royal families, something he had waited years for, made Vandarion’s very soul quiver. Because of that, his words almost sounded gentle. Of course, it was all facetious.

“Shut up, Vandarion!”

“Layous-sama, this is an order as empress! Pay no heed to me or Ceilēshu and strike down Vandarion!”

“But Your Majesty Elfaria, you are part of the Mastir family that I am so indebted to. Princess Ceilēshu is connected to the Mastir family as well. I can not forsake either one of you!”

“If it’s to protect citizens and country, justice is secondary! Have you forgotten our ideals, Layous Fatra Veltlion?!”

“That’s right! We don’t want to live if it brings suffering to the people!”

“But Your Majesty! Your Highness! When all else is said and done, I am still the Blue Knight!”

“Wahahahahaha!”

Vandarion’s wicked laughter echoed in the vast room. He was enjoying Koutarou, Elfaria, and Ceilēshu’s conversation. Their desperate but futile struggle to find a way out of this dark, helpless situation amused him greatly.

“Vandarion-sama!”

“What?”

But hearing Granado’s voice spoiled his fun. His face twisted with dark gloom, but Granado didn’t flinch at the sight. Having known him for such a long time, Granado wasn’t so easily affected by Vandarion’s moods. There wasn’t time for that anyway. He had something urgent to report.

“There’s a strong reaction on the Future Forecast System! A surprise attack is coming! The back and forth between the Blue Knight and the others is just a ploy to buy time!”

“How impudent!”

Vandarion finally realized what Koutarou was doing. He was intentionally acting like a decoy to distract Vandarion while the army launched an attack. Having guessed that something was happening, Elfaria joined hands with Ceilēshu to buy time. Vandarion and Granado had been completely fooled as the attack closed in.

“Stop them! Teach them that petty tricks won’t work on their new supreme ruler!”

“As you wish, my lord!”

However, Vandarion and Granado weren’t going to go down that easily. Now that they had caught on to the surprise attack, they moved to intercept it. Controlling the dragon, Granado fired the laser cannon equipped to its left arm. Like with the Type One Revised, the Type Two had been created to fight multiple enemies at the same time. The laser it fired was a short-range, wide area attack that was weak overall, but could hit multiple targets at the same time. Granado had seemingly fired it at a part of the room where no one was.

“Quick Cast Greater Force Field!”

“Karama, Korama, spiritual energy field to maximum output!”

“Ruth!”

“Commencing emergency deployment of the distortion field!”

The laser appeared to be flying towards empty space, but nine girls suddenly appeared in its path. When the laser hit, the invisibility spell that had kept them hidden lost its effect. But the girls hadn’t taken any more damage than that. The wide area laser had inherently low firepower for a laser attack, so the girls were able to protect themselves from it with their various abilities.

“So there you are, princess and rabble! Don’t think the same tricks will work over and over again!”

“Please stand back, Vandarion-sama!”

Fwoooosh!

The Type Two turned its body around and made a sweep with its massive tail. The truth was that Theia and the others weren’t the only attackers. There were automated weapons on the opposite side of the room, also hidden by an invisibility spell. The Type Two’s tail, however, swept them away. The automated weapons they’d brought with them were smaller models to make it easier to infiltrate with them, so the majority of them were turned into scrap by the attack. Once that was done, Granado ordered the dragon to pick up Vandarion. The safest place was next to the Type Two.

“It doesn’t matter what you do! I can see right through it all! There’s no one that can beat this Type Two! I stand astride the entire world with this power!”

Vandarion boasted triumphantly from the palm of the Type Two. Vandarion was convinced that the dragon’s power had stopped the surprise attack and wiped out Koutarou’s and the others’ hope, leaving them with no chance of victory.

“I didn’t want to believe it, but can that dragon of yours see the future?”

But even then, Theia’s bullish attitude remained unfazed. She wouldn’t be the one to tarnish the reputation of the undefeated Mastir family. Her duty was to fight with confidence, regardless of the situation.

“That’s right! DKI doesn’t have a monopoly on seeing into the future! We’ve taken the magic for ourselves and made better use of it!”

ROOOOOAAAAAR!

The Type Two responded to Vandarion’s voice with a roar. The Type Two’s main strength was its ability to see the future, which is what had allowed Vandarion to raid the imperial palace. By peering into the future, it was possible to outwit any enemy. It could prevent surprise attacks and stop betrayals, making things rather one-sided for whoever possessed such power. And that was exactly the power given to the Type Two, the ultimate weapon for a supreme ruler.

There’s a mana reaction at the back of the neck. It’s... green mana! I should have known! Green is in there!

Using several spells, Maki confirmed that Vandarion was telling the truth about what the Type Two could do. The reality of the situation was grim. Vandarion had kidnapped Green and deprived her of her freedom and consciousness. In that state, he’d put her inside the Type Two as if she was just a machine part. Even without directly using magic, there were several ways to use magicians as tools. It was Green’s power that allowed the Type Two to see the future. That’s why Vandarion’s faction had gone to the trouble of plotting an attack to kidnap her. She was their target all along, which is why Elexis and the others had been able to escape after the ambush.

“Now then, what will you do, Blue Knight? Signaltin is broken and your surprise attack has failed! Now it’s time to choose! Will it be Forthorthe?! Or the empress?!”

Vandarion boasted triumphantly once again. The empress and princess were in his grasp, he had taken Signaltin from the Blue Knight, and now he’d cut off his attempt to gain control of the situation. All that was left was to show the people of Forthorthe the miserable sight of the Blue Knight’s demise. Vandarion would capture him and execute him when the time was right. Unlike the way things had gone with Maxfern two thousand years ago, victory looked like it wasn’t on the Blue Knight’s side this time.

“Hey, Vandarion.”

But despite the way things looked, Koutarou was calm. Despair hadn’t gotten the better of him, and that irritated Vandarion somewhat.

“Have you settled on your answer?”

Vandarion hurried Koutarou on. He was anxious to broadcast Koutarou’s defeat and humiliation to all of Forthorthe, but Koutarou had a mysterious look on his face.

“It seems you only just started with future forecasts, but... did you properly test it?”

“What? What is that supposed to mean?”

“Divination magic has several weak points. If you had properly understood that, you might have come out victorious, Vandarion.”

“What―”

Clack! Dwaaang!

The Type Two suddenly kneeled down where it stood. Standing in its palm, Vandarion had to grab on to a finger in order not to fall off. As he did, he shouted out to Granado.

“Granado! What are you doing?!”

“Vanda... the subcontroll... is under atta...”

Granado’s reply was hard to make out through all the static, but Vandarion understood the gist of it. The dragon had two cockpits: the main controller in the head, and the subcontroller stretching from the back of the neck to the spine. Granado was in the subcontroller, which was also where the newly developed Future Forecast System had been installed. Based on what Vandarion could understand of Granado’s message, the subcontroller was under attack.

“Impossible! There’s nothing happening!”

From the palm of the Type Two, Vandarion couldn’t directly see the back of the neck. Instead, he had pointed the fortress’s cameras there, but nothing in particular stood out. The scale-shaped hatch that was painted a deeper red than the rest of the body was still shut and intact.

“H... Hologram... it’s all virtual... a trick to make everything look normal... being fooled...”

“What?!”

Boom!

The next moment, a blast from somewhere inside the subcontroller blew through the hatch door. It should have blown it clear off its hinges, but once the blast subsided, the hatch still appeared to be in place. That could only mean one thing: the hatch was a fake. Someone had attacked and infiltrated, but they’d covered up their tracks with a virtual image to make it look like nothing was wrong.

“Are you okay, mother?!”

“You did great, Theia!”

“I’m glad to see that you’re safe as well, Ceilēshu-san!”

“Thank you very much, Clariossa-san!”

With Vandarion distracted, Theia and the others made their moved. They rushed up to the captured royals, cutting their restraints to rescue them

“Everything worked out great, Kiriha-sama!”

“Indeed. As expected, they are ignorant when it comes to the magic involved.”

In contrast to the rejoicing Ruth, Kiriha remained calm. They weren’t in a position to celebrate yet. They had to keep their guard up.

“I-Impossible! Aren’t we supposed to be able to see the future?! What did you bastards do?!”

“You made the novice mistake of assuming the future was absolute. You were too careless, Vandarion.”

Kiriha concealed her mouth behind a fan and laughed elegantly. Everything had gone according to her plan. Vandarion and Granado had been made to dance in the palm of her hand.

Largely speaking, the weakness of the Future Forecast spell was Green’s subjectivity. It potentially distorted the way she perceived the future, which confused those looking to make use of her forecasts. Not much time had passed since Vandarion and Granado had gotten their hands on future forecasting, and they had been quick to put it into use. The result was that they were now depending on it without an understanding of its flaws and limitations. Kiriha had suspected as much, and she preyed on that.

Future forecasting was essentially the simple act of taking a peek at the future. That’s why it couldn’t distinguish between reality and illusion. It couldn’t see through holograms or illusion spells. It would actually have to witness the device or magic creating them in order to do that.

As such, Kiriha had given Darkness Rainbow a very specific set of instructions and asked that they stay hidden with illusion magic. Since that was a specialty of theirs, even though the plan was elaborate, she thought they could pull it off. They had faithfully followed Kiriha’s directions and approached the Type Two while hidden. They then created an illusionary hatch and destroyed the real one to get inside. After breaking in, they made the subcontroller look perfectly normal. That’s why there had been no change in Green’s forecasts so far—the future still looked the same.

Of course, there were other things throwing chaos into the forecasts. One was Theia and the others entering the fray. With them attacking, the Type Two would naturally counterattack, and the uncertainty of battle would start to distort Green’s forecasting. Even if enemy attacks could be predicted, variables like reaction time lowered the accuracy of the forecast. Each human element involved made the calculation that much trickier.

Furthering the chaos even more was the presence of Maki. While Green didn’t feel much for Maki personally, she didn’t like that she meant so much to Crimson. In other words, Green indirectly hated Maki. Because of that, she naturally paid more attention to Maki when she was around, spitefully peering into her future and trying to get in her way. Since that distracted Green’s attention from everything else that was going on, it made it easier for Darkness Rainbow to move unnoticed.

“So this is how you guys always saw us? I see...” Nana mused.

“Apparently this was the plan we were going to go with the next time we fought,” Crimson explained.

“I suppose we’re lucky things came to this first in a way.”

Nana and Crimson were the ones leading the group breaking into the subcontroller. Since Nana was so dependable and Crimson had exceptionally high attack power, they were the perfect pair for the job.

“...What?” Granado asked no one in particular as he looked around.

The six girls of Darkness Rainbow plus Nana had cast a spell on the subcontroller of the Type Two. It was an illusion to make it seem like everything was normal. That’s why all Granado, who was in the subcontroller, felt was a slight change in pressure as the hatch opened. If anything, he was worthy of praise for noticing something so subtle.

“Was it just my imagination...?”

Yet despite Nana and Crimson standing right in front of him, he didn’t see anything. The Future Forecast System wasn’t issuing any warnings either. The illusion cast on the subcontroller was one thing, but the invisibility spell they had cast on themselves before entering the space fortress was about to expire. It would only last another thirty seconds or so. But until then, the system would continue to falsely report to Granado that everything was fine and that the future was secure. And though they only had a matter of seconds left, they weren’t worried. Even if the spell ran out now, they’d already successfully infiltrated the subcontroller.

“Go, Crimson!” Nana called.

Bang, bang, bang!

Nana repeatedly fired her gun, Over the Rainbow. She was targeting the control panel for the Type Two. Her goal was to destroy it or make it unusable before Granado noticed.

“Got it!” Crimson shouted.

The subcontroller was essentially a cockpit several meters in diameter. It was much larger than the inside of a tank, but it still didn’t take long to get from one side of the room to the other. Crimson closed in on Granado as fast as she could and swung down her staff, now transformed into an axe.

Bleep, bleep, bleep!

“An enemy?! How did they—”

When the alarm rang out, Granado realized the danger he was in. The Future Forecast System had detected the attack just as the invisibility spells began to wear off.

“Just where are they coming from? I-Impossible! From inside of the subcontroller?!” Granado shouted in his surprise.

“That’s right! I’ll be taking Green back now!” Crimson roared.

Wham!

The Future Forecast System was now showing footage from within the subcontroller. As Granado turned around, he was suddenly knocked back. He crashed into the already half-destroyed control panel. Crimson and Nana appeared from thin air as Granado collapsed at their feet. That was the future the system predicted, and that’s almost exactly how things unfolded a moment later. The only real difference was that, knowing the future, Granado tried to reach for his gun this time. But even then, the outcome remained unchanged. Granado lay collapsed by Nana and Crimson’s feet.

“Crimson, you didn’t kill him, did you?”

“I made sure to hold back. He’s one of Vandarion’s few friends, so we’re using him as a hostage, right?”

“So you didn’t forget. That’s good.”

So far, all was going as Kiriha had planned. They were able to infiltrate the subcontroller and seize it while neutralizing Granado. If needed, the rest of Darkness Rainbow was there to support them, but fortunately, that hadn’t been necessary.

“Crim-chan, come on over here! I found GreGre!”

“You did?!”

Crimson had defeated Granado in an instant, but when Orange called to her right after, she immediately lost all interest in him. She hurriedly turned around and ran towards Orange’s voice.

“Yellow, is Green okay?!” she asked excitedly.

“Purple and Blue are looking at her now. Just calm down,” Yellow replied.

“I can’t calm down when she looks like that!”

Green was embedded into one of the walls of the subcontroller. It was a terrible sight. She was wearing something like a helmet with electrodes and IV drips attached to her everywhere. She was being compelled to use her Future Forecast through the use of drugs and hypnotic suggestions, and a computer connected to her interpreted that data for Granado and Vandarion. She was being forced to help them against her will.

“You sure care about your friends an awful lot, Crim-chan.”

“Don’t make fun of me!”

“I’m not making fun of you. I can kind of understand how you feel now.”

The girls quickly worked together to remove Green from the wall and deattach her from the electrodes and IVs. At the moment, she was surrounded by her five allies all looking down at her with worried, caring expressions. The very same allies that had once only considered each others tools.

Two years ago, all we did was fight... I don’t know what happened... but I can’t hate them anymore...

Watching over them, Nana realized the change that had come over Darkness Rainbow. She knew them well, including that they only cared about themselves in the past. But here they were, working as a team and treating each other like friends. While she might not be able to be their friend after everything they’d been through, Nana didn’t think she could hate the current Darkness Rainbow.

Thunk.

“Wh-What?!”

With the controls destroyed, the Type Two started tilting. It was so sudden that Nana had to grab the backrest of pilot’s seat to support herself. Darkness Rainbow followed suit, grabbing on to whatever they could while trying to protect Green.

“Looks like it’s settled down,” Nana said when the moving stopped.

Fortunately, the Type Two hadn’t fallen over. The AI had kicked in before that and activated its balance control, bracing itself with its limbs. However, the abrupt shock caused something unexpected to happen. The unconscious Granado had woken up.

Now’s my chance!

Once awake, Granado quickly took stock of the situation and readied a weapon he had hidden on him.

Thunk! Clank, clank, clank...

After tossing it, Granado hurried to the nearby door to take cover. The subcontroller had a main entrance, and a secondary one that led to a different part of the Type Two.

“A grenade?! Everyone, run!” Nana shouted.

She reacted as soon as she heard the unmistakable sound of a grenade rolling across the floor. She ran right up to it and kicked it away. It traced a beautiful arc in the air and landed near the door that Granado had escaped through.

Boom!

It exploded when it hit the floor, engulfing the entire subcontroller.

Why am I protecting Darkness Rainbow, I wonder...?

Despite telling Darkness Rainbow to run, Nana herself had stayed behind. Moreover, she’d approached the danger. Since she wasn’t able to escape, she’d put herself in harm’s way and used her own body as a shield to protect Darkness Rainbow. Even then, it might all be meaningless. Her body was small, and the defense spell she cast using the staff built into her wouldn’t be enough to protect against an explosion like this at point blank range. But in the end, Nana was a magical girl of love and courage at heart. She couldn’t abandon those who had just started to learn the ways of love.

I guess this is the end of the road for me... Oh well. Really, I should have died two years ago protecting Yurika-chan...

That was what Nana thought as the blast in the subcontroller hit her. Yurika was Nana’s disciple and also her best friend. As she closed her eyes, Yurika’s face was what she saw. That being her final thought put Nana’s heart at peace.

“...Huh?”

But that was when something strange happened. Even after the blast had passed, Nana was still alive. Confused, she slowly opened her eyes and saw several transparent, glowing somethings floating in the air.

“Yellie, why are we protecting Rainbow Nana again?”

“I don’t know... but just letting her die her would be kind of disgusting, wouldn’t it?”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

The yellow things floating over Nana were impenetrable shields created by magic. It turned out that Nana wasn’t the only one willing to protect her new, unexpected allies.