Serica's blade moved like a silver arc through the dim corridor, each swing deliberate, each parry ringing with purpose. Her breath came steady but heavy, muscles burning as another Spire soldier crumpled at her feet. She hated this. Drawing them away from Kentaro and the others hadn't been the plan; that was supposed to be Shogo's role. But leaving Kentaro without the cover of Shogo felt wrong in her chest. Kentaro needed Shogo, being the strongest person they had. And if Serica could shoulder this burden, then she would.

Every strike she made had meaning. These soldiers fought because they were ordered to. Serica fought because she believed. That belief sharpened her will, kept her feet planted when her body screamed to falter. She angled her blade, Glaciera, to the side, ice sparking with each impact, deliberately striking to disarm rather than kill. But the bodies littering the ground reminded her she wasn't perfect; some hadn't survived the force of her strikes. She whispered an apology to each one in silence, then pressed on.

At last, the last soldier sagged unconscious to the floor. The corridor fell into silence, only Serica's breathing filling the space. She lowered her blade slightly.

And froze.

Footsteps.

They echoed from the hallway behind her. Not hurried like soldiers. Not hesitant like prey. They were slow, measured, almost taunting in their deliberate rhythm. Whoever it was, they wanted her to hear.

Serica gripped Glaciera tighter, knuckles whitening, sweat tracing down her temple. Her brows knitted as the sound drew closer.

"SHOW YOURSELF!" She barked, voice cracking through the silence like a whip.

The footsteps paused for a breath. Then resumed.

Out of the gloom, a silhouette emerged. Slender. Unhurried. The faint outline of shoulder-length hair caught the weak light, pink. Then a mask, white lacquered in the shape of a Japanese noh face, concealing everything but a faint curve of the mouth.

Serica instinctively stepped back, sword raised. Whoever this was, she wasn't like the soldiers. Her aura pressed differently, sharper, like a thread pulled too tight.

The masked girl finally tilted her head, sliding her mask up just enough to expose a smile, soft, mischievous, but unsettling in its calm.

"Me? Oh no, no," she said cheerfully, her voice light in contrast to the heavy air. "I'm not here to fight you. I was bored. Rin-Rin's busy, so I thought I'd help her friends out for a bit. You've got bigger problems anyway, lots more bad guys coming this way."

Serica blinked, sweat dripping down her chin. The playful tone didn't match the deliberate way she had walked into view, or the sharpness in her gaze. She didn't lower her sword.

"So… You know Rin?" she asked cautiously.

The girl's smile didn't waver. She turned, placing herself squarely in front of the approaching hall as if she'd been waiting for this exact moment.

"Sure. Of course, I know Rin-Rin. We go back a little, but don't worry, we're not close." She giggled faintly, like she had told an inside joke that only she understood.

Serica narrowed her eyes. She didn't believe her. Not fully. Something about this girl's words rang false, even in their casual delivery.

The slam of doors echoed down the corridor, followed by a surge of footsteps, dozens of them, rushing in formation.

The pink-haired girl flicked her hand backwards without turning her head, motioning for Serica to move. Her voice, still sing-song, carried an odd weight. "Go on. Run along. I'll handle this part."

Serica hesitated only a heartbeat before nodding. She had no choice. "Okay. Thank you… Miss Pink Lady!" She shouted as she sprinted for the elevator.

The masked girl smiled wider, watching Serica retreat. Then, almost wistfully, she murmured, "Pink Lady, huh? Guess that's fitting…" She let her eyes drift shut for a moment, whispering softer still, "But maybe… Big Sister would've been nice."

When she opened them again, her mask snapped back down, smile erased.

The first wave of soldiers flooded the corridor, blades and rifles raised. The girl sighed, rolling her shoulders like she'd been waiting for this moment all night.

"Well then… Guess playtime starts now."

And with that, she leapt forward, her assault beginning in a storm of motion.

*

Back outside, Velza's duel with the Rins was spiralling further from her control than she had ever imagined. One Rin was already a nuisance, but this army of shifting clones, blinking in and out, spraying her with fire from every angle, was suffocating. Her blade flashed white as she cut down another illusory form, but each kill meant nothing. For every clone that vanished, two more slid into her blind spot.

The pistols. Those damned pistols. Small, quick, impossible to ignore, and when Rin's sniper rifles joined in with thunderous cracks, Velza felt her defence thinning, her body bending toward exhaustion. Sparks burst as her blade deflected shot after shot. But even she couldn't block everything.

Rin, meanwhile, revelled in her momentum. She darted and circled, her laughter echoing across the battlefield.

"Hehehe… Look at you, Velza! All that swagger, and now you're just dancing for me!"

Her voices came from everywhere: the main body, the clones, even echoes in Velza's head. Her army swarmed, pistols snapping like gnats, rifles firing like lightning strikes.

Velza's jaw clenched. She'd cut down three, but the swarm didn't thin. Their bullets sang around her like angry hornets, her armour glowing with strain. She had underestimated her. This many Rins… This was chaos incarnate.

"ENOUGH!" Velza roared. Her voice tore through the night, sharp enough to still even Rin's laughter for a breath. Her suit flared, white light bleeding out between the seams of her armour.

Rin's grin widened. "Ooooh~ Finally taking me seriously?"

Velza's eyes burned as she steadied her sword. "You'll regret mocking me."

The air cracked as Rin lunged in. Her pistols were no longer just guns; Alberline energy coursed through them, hardening their frames, making them hum like short blades. She met Velza head-on, steel against reinforced steel, sparks dancing with each furious clash.

But Velza was under siege. Even as she parried Rin's close strikes, bullets hissed from the clones circling outside. A searing sting hit her shoulder, the first true wound. Blood spilt hot under her armour.

"Tsch!" Velza hissed, shoving Rin back. Her blade whipped wide, cutting the air, forcing space between them.

This was Rin's chance. She felt it. Seventeen clones lifted their rifles in perfect sync. Their barrels gleamed, aligned on Velza's chest.

Velza looked up, seeing death in their synchronised gaze. Her chest tightened. For the first time… Fear clawed at her. An Alberline… Is overpowering me?

Her teeth ground together. "NO! THIS CAN'T HAPPEN!" She screamed.

"OVERDRIVE"

Her AI confirmed in a detached, mechanical voice, "97% Overdrive activated," and then power surged.

Her body became a white inferno. The blast wave shredded half the Rins in an instant, her sword a streak of annihilation, cutting through the swarm. Each slash carried devastating speed, precision, fury. In the blink of an eye, fifteen Rin clones were gone, burned away by her overdrive's unnatural power.

When the light dimmed, only two remained.

Rin's grin had faltered. She masked it quickly, wiping sweat from her brow and keeping her voice playful. "Heheh… Not bad… But you're looking rough."

Velza chuckled through bloodied lips, her wound stitching itself under her suit's rapid healing. Her eyes caught Rin's, sharp with satisfaction. "My, my. Where's that arrogance now?"

Rin said nothing. Her pistols hung low, her gaze sharp, calculating. But inside, her confidence wavered. The sudden loss of her army rattled her, Velza's power… It's too sharp. Too precise.

Velza saw the crack in her facade. Her smirk widened. "Very well then. Let's finish this properly." She lunged forward.

And froze.

Her head snapped back, listening. A voice in her comms. Urgent. She staggered, then leapt back, her sword lowered.

Rin narrowed her eyes, guns ready. "What's this? Second thoughts?"

Velza ignored her. She muttered quick replies into her comms, then turned her gaze back with cold disdain. "Our time here is over. But don't mistake this for mercy. Reiden requires my assistance. If not for him, you'd already be dust."

Another wave of NULL burst from the flanks, their nets and rifles forcing Rin back, her body twisting midair to avoid capture.

Rin shouted above the chaos, her smile sharp and mocking. "Running already? Tail between your legs, Velza?"

Velza's eyes narrowed as she took off, leaving only a streak of white light behind her. "Watch your mouth. Thank Reiden, you owe him your life, fool."

And she was gone.

"Tsch." Rin clicked her tongue, twisting her pistols into her hands as the NULL swarmed. Her clones reformed beside her, fewer this time, their number a shadow of before. She snapped her wrists, bullets sparking into the tide.

Her smirk didn't falter, though sweat soaked her bangs.

"I hope you're almost done, Kentaro. I bought as much time as I could."

The words were low, almost drowned in the cacophony of gunfire, as her eyes caught the faintest glimpse of Velza vanishing back into the building, before a wall of NULL slammed between them, cutting Rin's view to black.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.