Prologue

Prologue

 

A month had passed since the Twin Star Heroes eliminated the Gate over the Imperial Capital.

 

***

 

“Combat altitude of 20,000 meters achieved. Magic output at max. Systems green. Initiating contact.”

In darkness, a woman in a visor read out the information displayed on her vision.

She wore a tight plugsuit beneath the red exo-armor, and both she and the armor were fixed in place. She normally kept her hair in a ponytail, but now it was wound up in a bun to keep it out of her way.

“Contact complete. Heavy Magic Engine responsive. Proceeding to final initialization sequence.”

In response to her voice, a stream of red letters flowed across her visor. She’d trained for this. All was well. She was fine. No mistakes. She could do this. Not the time to lose her nerve. Stay strong. Yet no matter how many times she told herself that, her hands wouldn’t stop shaking.

Then she heard a beep. A window appeared at the lower right of her vision that read INCOMING TRANSMISSION. She opened it with thought control.

“Senpai, are you okay?”

It was him. He’d been concerned and called her. She was so happy she could dance, but she was in the middle of an operation. She had to be careful to keep her glee from overflowing. “Yeah, I’m fine. Going on ahead.”

“Be careful.”

A simple exchange, but she could feel herself unclenching. The muscles she’d been straining relaxed. “Thank you. I love you.”

“You, too.”

As he answered, the floor opened up and light spilled out in front of her. The wall of white clouds outside flowed quickly downward. Beyond them, she caught a glimpse of sunlight reflecting off the ocean’s surface.

She and the mobile weapon she wore were suspended face down in the storage deck at the bottom of a ship flying 20,000 meters above the surface, preparing to drop.

“Reimei,” she said. “Launch.”

Calling her frame’s new name, one half of the heroic duo dropped onto a battlefield teeming with monsters from another world.

 

***

 

One day, massive portals appeared all over the world. Later to be known as Gates, these were passages linking our world to another—a world filled with mankind’s natural predators, the Jave. Ever since these Gates opened a few decades ago, Jave had been spilling through.

The Jave were fleshy beasts, purplish-black and shaped like cones or mantas. They had countless tentacles, each one several meters long. Humans caught by these tentacles were eaten whole.

The Jave made nests around the Gates, laid eggs, and multiplied on our world. The Imperial mainland was long since overrun with them; only a few survivors remained.

These survivors had settled on islands to the south, waging a desperate resistance against the Jave. These were the Jogen Islands, a crescent-shaped island chain stretching from the mainland of Japan across the ocean.

There were three major military encampments under Imperial Army control: one on Jogen, one floating on the waters near the Imperial Capital (which mankind had recovered only a month before), and one on a small island known as Aohime.

A new Gate had appeared above this last location, code-named Mid-Blue. This Gate obstructed the sea lane connecting the Capital and Jogen. If nothing was done, lines of supply and communication to the freshly recovered capital would remain unsecured, so the Imperial Army launched an operation to eliminate Mid-Blue.

 

In Mid-Blue airspace, sandwiched between the blue of the sky and the blue of the ocean, the horizon melted away, nearly impossible to make out. Far in the distance was the volcanic island of Aohime. Just above that was the Gate, like a pitch-black moon surrounded by a red mist and a terrifying number of black specks.

The black specks were Jave, and the red mist was the blood they sprayed.

They were joined by white beams of light, outnumbering the black specks. These beams caused explosions, and the volume of red mist increased, but the number of black specks increased even more.

The war between the Imperial Air Force Mobile Unit and the Mid-Blue Jave swarm had begun.

 

The Air Force was deployed in a fan shape above Aohime Island. There were some aircraft and flying motherships, but the bulk of their forces were soldiers known as Maneuver Cavalleria. At a glance, they looked like skydivers, but that was not the case.

Each Cavalleria wore a frame of external armor. These frames were powered by the innate magical power all humans possessed, allowing them to fly. Known as Division Maneuvers, or DMs for short, the invention of these armored magic weapons had instantly made all weapons from the old world obsolete.

Cavalleria wearing sniper DMs began laying down cover fire from a distance. This was the storm of white beams seen a moment before. They carved through the Jave front lines, firing until their magic was almost tapped out. Nearly ten percent of the assembled black specks were eliminated.

“Attacker Squads, charge!”

At the commander’s word, the snipers retreated, replaced by a crowd of Attacker units in two-man cells.

The Jave fought back. They fired bullets of light so fast they looked like twinkling stars. DMs were equipped with barriers known as Witch Bubbles that allowed them to move in the deep sea or outer space, but the monsters’ shelling easily tore through these. Luck and reflexes allowed ninety percent of the attackers to make it through intact. That might sound like most, but it still meant dozens had perished.

The bulk of the DMs that the Air Force Cavalleria employed were ordinary Nichirin frames. Leaving the comm channels partially open, each frame was playing pre-selected combat music. Since this was proven to boost morale, the Air Force allowed DM units to play music as long as the volume was low enough that they wouldn’t miss orders. The songs could be rock, punk, jazz, theme songs from mecha anime, or whatever the Cavalleria preferred, but they were almost all fast-paced and intense. The 2nd Mobile Unit’s front attacker fired bullets in time to the rhythm of a double-bass drum set, the 10th Mobile Unit’s attack gunner was shot down wrapped in the song of electronic fairies, and the 5th Mobile Unit’s front attacker cut through an enemy Jave, screaming along with the chorus.

The odds were three to one in favor of the enemy.

Five seconds after the battle began, a tenth of the military’s forces were gone, and the enemy numbers were only increasing.

How? Because a Queen had emerged from inside the Gate.

The Jave Queen was a massive cone-shaped monster three hundred meters in diameter. Made of red flesh, like internal organs, it had a horrifying number of mouths, and each of these spewed children—ordinary Jave. Their only shot at winning was to kill this Queen.

Six seconds had passed since the battle began.

The front lines had been disrupted, but the Jave swarm still held the skies over Aohime Island, and there were no signs of penetrating their inner stronghold.

But at the seven-second mark, a new frame fell from the skies above.

“Stay with me. Don’t leave me alone. I will come back. Back to you.”

Everyone heard these lyrics blasting over their comms. Whether through sheer nerve, or carelessness keeping her from noticing the volume was left cranked up, she was convinced no one else could hear—but if they listened close, they could hear her humming along. They pretended not to notice the barely suppressed note of fear.

A sweet song of love—not at all what you’d think the Warrior Princess would listen to.

Yet every one of them thought the same thing: She’s here. At last she’s here. Right on time. Take it from here, Your Highness.

An instant later, a blinding beam of light pierced the Queen Jave.

Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Shot by the Division Maneuver as it fell from 20,000 meters above, a third of the Queen’s bulk was vaporized, and she screamed in pain and fury.

As if linked to her will, every Jave looked up just as a second shot fired. The horde of Jave were swallowed by the massive light bullet, vaporized one after another.

This beam was clearly far, far more powerful than anything the other Cavalleria had fired. The diameter alone was on a different scale. While an ordinary rifle fired fist-sized bursts of light, her bullets were so large that ten people could line up head to toe and still be swallowed up by them.

Her red DM fell, plunging through the hole she had made in the Jave swarm. The Jave all fired at her as she passed, but her DM danced across the surface of the ocean, dodging all their bullets. Several bullets appeared to score a direct hit, but a light like a black membrane appeared, catching and diverting them.

The shape of this DM was strange, not at all like a human’s form. The head was too long, the wings too large, and the tail stretching from the back was too elongated. And the sheer size of it! It was at least twenty meters long.

Was it a bird? A crane? A dragon?

No…it was a Kiryu.

As the massive DM flew along the water’s surface, several hexagon-shaped objects shot out ahead of it. They turned in the air, flying directly towards and into the Jave swarm where they exploded. The covers broke free, and countless guided light beams fired from within.

Numerous explosions followed. The Jave caught up in them were turned to dust.

Without checking the results, the giant DM was already committed to its next action. As if kicking off the surface of the ocean, it suddenly rose upwards, hurling itself into the swarm. The Kiryu’s head turned. Its mouth opened, and a beam of light shot out. Dozens of monsters died instantly.

This was the massive beam of light from earlier. The Kiryu’s head turned left and right, mercilessly exterminating its foes. At the same time, the hexagons deployed from its tail—the guided light bullet containers—were fired into the thickest parts of the swarm, erupting and turning the walls of enemies into polka dots.

“Mother Servant Pod, fire.”

At her whispered command, two dragons flew from her feet, splitting away from the main body. Those two dragons further split into dozens of birds, each flying like they had minds of their own, spewing light bullets from their tips. They were Type-2 Artillery Servants, sent into the midst of the enemy.

A storm of hundreds of light beams erupted, and the monsters from another world were incinerated one after another. The giant red DM passed through the enemy swarm again, climbing higher. Just before she was hidden by the sun, for a second, the other Cavalleria caught a glimpse of the pilot.

She was one of the Twin Star Heroes, a Division 5 named Suzuka Hanabi. She was from Jogen Maneuver Academy, High School Division, Class 3-A, Seat Number 12. Hanabi was an Attack Gunner from the Lunatic Order’s Fuji Squad, wearing the frame called Reimei (Drag Ride).

She was also part of a giant dragon.

Drag Ride was the name of an advanced firepower unit made exclusively for the Reimei frame. It was a mechanical dragon—a Kiryu—over ten times as tall as Hanabi herself. Hanabi was mounted on the underbelly of this beast like a kangaroo’s joey, controlling it like her own arms and legs. Everything from the chest up was exposed, and she wielded a Scout Nova Rifle in both hands, but the lower portions of her body were entirely inside the Kiryu. Hanabi’s head lay just below the dragon’s long neck, and she wore a visor—generally not required with 6th generation DMs—allowing her to check the information provided by her new partner.

With the sun at her back, she did a flip, sending the Kiryu charging back into the thick of the Jave. The targets on her visor locked on to the Queen.

“High Nova Launcher…”

The primary cannon responded, the dragon’s mouth yawning open.

“Fire!”

The cannon roared.

The ultra-wide beam cut a path through the enemy. The Queen reacted with a speed belying her bulk, avoiding a direct hit but still taking damage. The intense heat of the magic beam melted the flesh on the Queen’s side, and she let out a scream that shook the very air, launching all her children at Hanabi. However, their feeble attacks were all blocked by the newly developed anti-light beam barrier, the Heavy Magic Field. This was the black membrane that briefly appeared around the DM after each hit. It was the Witch Bubble coated in a new tech called Heavy Magic, and it effectively neutralized the Jave’s bullets in a way never before possible. The clever Queen soon realized this, commanding her children to attack directly. Props for judgment, Hanabi thought.

A swarm of several hundred mantas flung themselves directly at Hanabi. She scattered guided light bullet containers like bait in her wake, launched dozens of Servants, and fired the rifle in her own hands, but it wasn’t enough. Several mantas made it through the field, brushing against the Kiryu’s wings.

“Ack!” Hanabi dropped the rifle, gathering Servants around both hands. Giant light swords stretched out from each of her palms, Blades made by merging several light beams. She then formed another twelve Servant Blades around herself, hacking away at any monsters who came near. Then…

Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Light gathered in front of the injured Queen. She was charging a light shot, planning to shoot Hanabi and all the Jave gathered around her. Hanabi thought quickly. Defense? Impossible. Even the Heavy Magic Field couldn’t stand a hit of that size! Evasive maneuvers? Would they make it?

The beam fired. An instant later…

Shichisei Kenbu: Shimetsu.

At the sound of the voice, the Queen’s light bullet vanished with a pop.

Before Hanabi’s eyes was the small back profile of a single Cavalleria, with nine bright wings fanned out around him. It was her partner’s frame. He’d used a Shichisei Kenbu Machine Fencing technique to quickly cover the ground and reach her in time. With the same motion as a karate left punch, he’d easily canceled out the fatal bullet.

Her partner was a front attacker with the Lunatic Order’s Fuji Squad. Clad like a blue-armored warrior in a DM called the Soukyu (Pleiades), he was the other half of the Twin Star Heroes. Hanabi’s own little hero, Okegawa Kuon.

“Kuon-kun!”

“Sorry, Senpai,” he said, landing on Hanabi’s—the Kiryu’s—
back.

“What are you doing? You aren’t positioned here!” Hanabi yelled while moving at high speed, her Servant Blades slicing and dicing the swarming Jave.

Riding the Kiryu’s back, Kuon pulled out two Ultra Magic Hardened Blades, turning Jave into sashimi as he replied, “That’s why I said sorry.”

“This again! You aren’t sorry at all!”

“I am!”

They were always like this. But a new voice interrupted. “Hanabi-sama, lecturing him with that grin on your face isn’t very convincing.”

“Y-y-you shut up, En-kun!”

A fairy clad in what appeared to be a silk kimono altered to look like a uniform—the Guide AI known as En—made a point of appearing right before Hanabi’s eyes just so she could smirk at her. “This is my master’s love. Love!”

Hanabi went bright red. How could she bring that up now?! “The plan was for me to draw the enemy away so you could finish off the Queen!” she yelled.

“Yep. Sorry! But…” Kuon detached himself from her back. The camera on the Kiryu’s rear caught his face. He was smiling. “I’ll go do that now, Senpai.”

An instant later he was a blur, and then he was gone. En vanished with him.

Jeez. Hanabi turned over so the Kiryu’s underside faced the Queen, giving herself a better view. The enemy had recovered from the shock of having her bullet canceled and was gathering light again when Kuon appeared behind it, using a shukuchi to cover the distance nigh-instantly.

 

Kuon took a deep breath, positioning himself on the Queen’s back. As he examined his foe, he perceived within her the root of all life, the focal point of life energy—what his master called “the light of life”. Almost leisurely, he thrust the Blade in his left hand towards it, releasing his breath.

Shichisei Kenbu Ultimate Art: Mumyo Tosen.

The Blade struck the Jave Queen in a nondescript section of flesh. But with the full force of Kuon’s magic charging the Blade, it blew a wind of death through the fleshy monster, causing a phenomenon known as Magic Dispersal within it. This was the effect of Mumyo Tosen, a fatal art that forced all the magic within the enemy to self-destruct.

There was no resisting it.

Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!

A fourth scream echoed. The Queen’s massive bulk slowly began to crumble, and the Gate over Aohime vanished, crackling like lightning. It had been a huge leap forward for the human race when they discovered that the Gates could only be maintained by a Jave Queen’s magic.

It was obvious the lesser Jave had lost all coordination as they fell slowly through the air. Only the Queen’s instructions had kept them focused; now, they were at a loss. The Kiryu and the rest of the mobile units attacked en masse, polishing off the survivors. The battle was as good as won.

“Is it over?” Kuon whispered.

“Yep. Well done, Kuon-sama,” his Guide AI said, appearing before him and bowing. “An art with a one hundred percent chance of causing death! I’ve seen it before, but…that’s so broken!”

“Broken how?” His Guide sometimes said things he didn’t understand.

“But if you push yourself too…”

“I’m fine.”

“If you say so…but Kuon-sama, since the plan was for a sneak attack, they removed all the extra boosters.”

“Yep.”

“All your nozzles are going, yet your falling speed seems unaffected.”

“Well, this frame was never designed to fly.”

“That ocean’s coming up fast.”

“It is.”

“You may have a Witch Bubble protecting you, but if you hit it at this speed, it’s definitely gonna hurt!”

“Oh, dear.” He considered trying to soften it with a shukuchi, but…

“What are you doing?”

“Hm?”

A dragon flew in from the side, catching him in its mouth before flying off. The dragon’s head bent, holding him where the pilot could see. His gallant and adorable Cavalleria was very obviously forcing her grin into a stern expression. “Hanabi-senpai, thank you,” he said.

“Thank you, Kuon-kun. No, wait…”

There were no enemies left on the radar. They’d been wiped out. Kuon looked the dragon over. “Seems like you’re handling the Drag Ride well.”

“Don’t change the subject!”

Darn.

“…You’ve been getting awfully bold lately, Kuon-kun.”

“Have I?”

“You have! Remember to respect your elders!”

“I thought I was.”

As they bickered, shouts of victory were raised around them. While the Cavalleria celebrated, orders to return to the mothership were handed down, one after another. There were many voices praising the heroes, but Hanabi seemed oblivious to them. “I…I know that, but…” The dragon’s head turned, bringing Kuon even closer. He noticed that Hanabi’s face was extraordinarily beautiful, pretty, cute…and a little flushed. “You can let me baby you a little!”

Oh, he thought. She’s in Maiden Mode.

“The other day we had that d-d-d-d-date… I mean, shopping trip, and you… All your money…”

Uh-oh. “Err, Hanabi-senpai?”

“Wh-what? You repent?”

“Um…you know your comms are wide open, right?”

“Huh?”

The shouts of victory gave way to whistles, laughter, and teasing. “Good job, Princess! Found you a good one, huh?” “Such passion! Talk about covering yourself with glory!” “Whoa, phrasing!”

“What?!” Hanabi had frozen up completely. Kuon put his hands to his head. This wasn’t going well. He wracked his brains looking for a way to save her, or at least share the pain of this shame. He couldn’t let her be the only one embarrassed. He wanted to share the burden. The world no longer needed solo heroes, after all. The two of them were a team.

“Senpai, uh…” He was pretty sure this was the manliest thing he’d ever done. “I love you!”

The Warrior Princess turned redder than her own frame, let out a really adorable squeal, and dropped Kuon into the ocean.

The next day, the entire Air Force was talking about Suzuka Hanabi.

 

***

 

On the bridge of the Kuou, a girl was watching the fight on screen.

“What do you think, Nürburg-kun? How’s the Drag Ride moving?”

“Not bad.” the girl—Nürburg—responded mechanically.

“Good,” the captain nodded.

She looked at the screen again, at the other hero on it. “That’s my brother,” she whispered so quietly that no one else heard it.