Volume 17 - CH 6

After a national emergency is declared, Tokyo has become a fortified city with an urban defense system. Air defense weapons are activated and important equipment is sent to a geo-front that has evacuation shelters that all of Tokyo residents can live there up to 3 months. The city itself is probably the largest and strongest fortress in the world. But even if such fortress exists, the country still needs mage-knights to protect the citizens and engage the enemies on the frontline. Student knights are also gathered in a national emergency, including Ayase Ayatsuji. As shown in a colored pic, Ayase rushes out of the shower to her room in order to get dressed after hearing the news alert. Instead of wearing a bra, she decides to put on a sarashi since it provides better protection. Ayase then suddenly receives a call from Moroboshi, which causes her to ask why he’s calling her. Ayase’s response makes Moroboshi wonder if he has mistaken her as Kuraudo’s woman. Ayase irritably replies that Kuraudo is nothing more than just a junior disciple that gives her dad trouble. Moroboshi then asks Ayase if Kuraudo is at her place and she replies that he’s about to leave due to all student knights in East Japan being summoned to defend Tokyo. However, Moroboshi asks Ayase to tell Kuraudo to come to Kyushu because he’s more useful there.

Touka is currently in the illusion that shows her “death” is repeated many times. She is stabbed many times by Tendou’s sword while chained to a crucifixion cross and every time she is killed she would repeat the process again. Once she sees the pile of corpses of herself that’s been killed as shown in a pic, she escapes from this fate of death and returns back to her hospital bed. The illusionary pain she had just experienced causes her to vomit on her bed sheet and difficult to breathe. She is shocked to find out that it hasn’t been 5 minutes since she started challenging this fate of “death” even though the time of her experience was much longer. So she has plenty of time to achieve “Brute Soul” but that also means she has to experience being killed hundreds or even thousands of times again. This realization causes tears to fall out of her worn-out eyes and say that it is impossible. At this point, Touka’s heart is already broken and so is not strong enough to resist this fate. At first, she was trying to overcome this fate with a strong will but her courage started to weaken from fear after dying 10 times and she ended up just screaming from pain after dying 30 times. This is expected since people are bound and protected by fate, so abandoning this protection in order to challenge the limit of their potential is no different than committing suicide. People that exceed fate are those that stare at the abyss of death and keep moving forward without hesitation. Such people are strong egoists like Ikki and Stella who have no doubt in overcoming their fate and that even words like arrogant or brave are not enough to describe such people. However, Touka, on the other hand, is very human. She closes her eyes to go back challenging that fate again, but moments later she opens her eyes and screams. Her mind and body reject the unbearable pain ahead, so her eyes will remain wide open even if she tries to close them. She can’t challenge it anymore and so apologize for unable to protect everyone she cares about. Suddenly, Hisako shows up at the entrance of the room and says Touka is a fool since working hard while hiding her worn-out state is her biggest mistake.

Touka’s parents were often hospitalized and so she was taken care of by temporary staff from the Toutokubara Welfare Foundation most of the time. When her parents died almost 10 years ago, she moved to Wakaba House almost immediately which was when Hisako first met her. For someone who had just lost her parents, Touka was unexpectedly very calm, honest, gentle and had no conflict with other children at the facility. The other staff of the facility was pleased that Touka didn’t require help but Hisako always felt uneasy. About a month after Touka came to Wakaba House, her original home that she inherited was being used as a rental property and she went there with Hisako to clean it up. Hisako asked Touka if there was anything from her original home that she wanted to bring to Wakaba House, but she replied that there was nothing special there because her parents were hospitalized for a long time and they didn’t spend much time together. Touka was not sad when her parents died because she knew they would disappear someday. She didn’t understand what being spoiled was like and had learned to hold in feelings such as anxiety and dissatisfaction. At first, Hisako was angry at Touka’s parents because she thought they didn’t do anything for Touka. But Hisako realized she misunderstood when she learned that Touka’s parents grew chamomile flowers in their garden for her birthday present. Touka’s parents loved her and they knew they couldn’t give her much so they left chamomile flowers for Touka to convey what they wanted to tell her. Chamomile is a flower that can grow in any harsh land and blooms finely even when stepped on, and so it means “strength in adversity” in flower language. Hisako felt Touka needed to know that her parents must have wanted her to live strongly like the flower. Hisako also vowed to look after Touka during hardships in place of her parents, and now the time has come to fulfill that promise.

In the present, Hisako says that Touka must have always blamed herself for not realizing how much her parents loved her before they died and so she worked hard to become the person her parents wished her to be and able to respond to their love. Hisako also says that it’s time for Touka to forgive herself but Touka replies that she must continue. Hisako then hugs Touka and tells her that she has done enough. Touka did well by taking care of the other children at Wakaba House and became their hero. Her parents in heaven must be happy with Touka being Wakaba House’s pride. However, Hisako thinks they wouldn’t want Touka to work hard too much to the point of making such a difficult face because no flower blooms with such a gloomy face. They wanted Touka to always smile like a flower and Hisako wants that as well. Hisako tells Touka that it’s okay to run away from difficult things and unable to do something. Even if the world will be destroyed or no matter who blames her, Touka still has her family from Wakaba House and they will protect her. Hisako tells Touka to forgive herself now and hugs her tighter. As a result, Touka bursts into tears and cries loudly while clinging into Hisako’s chest. All of the emotions Touka accumulated in her chest all this time are finally coming out now. Surrendering herself to someone’s kindness like this is something Touka has never done before but now she finally does which is an important step for her to become an adult.

After Touka has stopped crying, she and Hisako go to the university’s gymnasium where soup is being distributed to the refugees in order to help them warm up against the cold wave caused by Tendou’s Noble Art. The person who is serving the soup to Touka is the woman named Itou, which caused them both to be uncomfortable at first. Itou notes that Touka’s face looks horrible and gives her a little more of the soup. Itou also says to Touka that both of them should just do what they possibly can, and Touka wonders if it’s okay to be spoiled at a time like this. Touka joins with everyone of Wakaba House which is missing Utakata who is still in a coma and another one who is currently watching over him. The children had already done things such as sealing the windows with tape and preparing blankets to protect themselves from the cold. Touka says the children are amazing since being scared and crying were all she could do. The children at first are surprised to hear that Touka is afraid of something, but they also say it’s understandable since Touka is a girl after all. They tell her to rest now and let them work as much as they can. They also celebrate Touka’s birthday that is in late August, although her birthday is actually two days earlier when she was still in a coma. The present they give her is a hairpin with chamomile flower craftsmanship. This causes Touka to cry from happiness and then realize something. She has always been surrounded by people who give her strength and so she has never actually accomplished things on her own. She doesn’t possess a strong ego like Ikki and Stella to overcome fate and defeat Tendou by herself, but she can do it if she’s together with everyone she loves. After Touka puts on the hairpin and thanks to the children for the present, she asks everyone in the gymnasium to fight alongside her.

Many US ships with air support have managed to break through Japan’s maritime line of defense and so the US soldiers arrive at Tokyo Bay. Japan has forces armed with tanks and rifles spread along the coastline and the US soldiers move forward without hesitation. However, Japan forces have the C-rank Blazer Yuuri Oreki who is standing on a tank as shown in a pic and activates her Noble Art (which is called supernatural ability in the US). Her Noble Art “Violet Pain” causes the US soldiers within 500 meters of her to experience the same pain of her sickly body and unable to fight. The Japanese soldiers and Blazers who are with Oreki then fire bullets and magic towards the US soldiers. In response, the US forces send in robots called “EDY” which are iron soldiers created with US weapons technology that is said to be a century ahead of other countries. The iron soldiers are not damaged by rifle bullets, Devices and Noble Arts of some Blazers, and they knock down some soldiers and Blazers to the ground. The iron soldiers’ main weapon is the Hadron Cannon, an invention of the century which fires directional high-energy strong particles that can dissolve any armor in the world and magic defense of some Blazers despite its small size. In other words, the US has the technology to mass produce power equivalent to Blazers which is why the country is considered the strongest in the world. The iron soldiers also can’t feel pain which makes them the worst opponents for Oreki’s ability. But the Japanese forces expected this and have prepared other C-rank Blazers who are Renren Tomaru and Ikazuchi Saijou. The two student knights use their Noble Arts and easily destroy the iron soldiers. The majority of Blazers can’t compete with the “EDY” but C-rank Blazers that make up only around 10% of all mage-knights have the power to control the battlefield with just a single knight. Normally student knights are standing by behind but those who are C-rank or above are sent to the frontline based on their suitability.

Japan’s Joint Operation Headquarters is monitoring the battles on all places and some officials there are arguing about their air defense not doing well due to the League’s strict restriction on military expansion. Itsuki says they actually have a measure against the enemy’s air force as it’s time for their arrows to arrive. At the same time, the fighter planes that are about to launch from a US aircraft carrier suddenly explode. A warship that’s protecting the aircraft carrier is also suddenly full of holes and then explodes. It is an attack from Japan’s side but it is invisible which causes the US Pacific Fleet to be in confusion. The source of the attack is above the US carrier where there is a helicopter carrying Kagami Kasukabe and Shizuya Kirihara as shown in a pic. Kirihara’s conceptual manipulation ability “transparency” provides complete camouflage for him and Kagami which causes the US military unable to find them. Kagami is surprised that “Area Invisible” can make things other than Kirihara invisible, but he replies that he was able to do it recently due to training. Kirihara was already capable of deceiving even cameras and radars during Hagun’s selection battles but he allowed the cameras to see some for fan service. Kagami praises Kirihara’s ability which was able to give even Ikki a hard time but Kirihara doesn’t want to talk about that time. Kirihara thinks Ikki who has been called “Seven Stars Sword King” and “Sword God” just got lucky and that Kirihara will defeat him next time. Kirihara then uses his Noble Art “Million Rain” and Kagami uses her Noble Art “Raise Up”. Kagami’s ability is “multiply”, which is the power to increase the number of things. Kirihara’s invisible arrows have been multiplied by ten times and then thousands of them struck the US aircraft carrier. The reason why the D-rank Kagami is on the frontline is that Itsuki himself sent her there. Kagami’s ability becomes well-known after she used it during the Seven Stars Sword Art Festival awards ceremony, but the strict Itsuki who is the head of the League’s Japan branch had memorized the basic profile and abilities of all Blazers in Japan so that he can send them with maximum efficiency.

Kurono who had arrived in Tokyo fast with her ability is also in the helicopter with Kagami and Kirihara. Kurono is sent to the center of the enemy since she is the largest fighting power Japan currently has. The ship below them can no longer function as an aircraft carrier but “EDY” and psychics are appearing on the deck. Kirihara’s ability is weak against enemies with range suppression attacks so Kurono orders Kagami and Kirihara to go back. Kagami wonders if it’s okay since there are still many enemy ships left but Kirihara argues that they should retreat even if the risk is only 1%. He hates pain and trains to become stronger so that he doesn’t have to go through danger. Kurono also says not to underestimate the strongest military power in the world and orders the two students to support the defense line at the coast from the sky. Kurono then jumps out of the helicopter and her gun shoots “Clock On Death” towards the ship below. Her Noble Art super-accelerates the time of the target and so the target reaches the end of its life in an instant. The ship crumbles from the aging and sinks into the sea. Kurono then stands on the rusted remains of the ship and shoots more of her Noble Art towards nearby enemy ships and planes, sinking all of them in less than a minute.

A huge air battleship is then above Kurono and a voice coming from a loudspeaker praises her. The top part of the air battleship is an aircraft carrier deck and the bottom part has the form of a battleship. The white air battleship is over 500 meters long with a displacement of 120,000 tons and equipped with 2 main armaments, 30 secondary armaments and 500 “EDY”. This is the largest Device ever seen in history and Kurono knows the user is the “White Whale” Douglas Appleton, who is a Desperado that was the strongest in the Union before the rise of Abraham Carter. The “White Whale” is what the League calls Appleton but he prefers the “Flying Admiral” that his side calls him. He boasts his Device, the super air battleship Enterprise, which is the fruit of the world’s best weapons technology and is flying due to his “floating” ability. 88-inch Hadron Cannons are equipped as the main armaments and they are fired towards Kurono. Everyone at the Joint Operation Headquarters monitoring the battle between Kurono and Appleton is relieved to see Kurono not injured by the blast. The main goal of the capital defense battle is to prevent the arrival of Enterprise on Japan’s mainland because if it does then Japan’s side has no choice but to surrender. Appleton is one of the most prominent Blazers in the world and the attack power of his Device enhanced with US weapons technology is monster-class. The main armaments are capable of penetrating the geo-front’s twelve layers of armor and kill a large number of citizens inside in a single blow. Nangou and Nene are currently not in Japan and so Kurono is the only one in the country that can go up against Appleton which is why Itsuki ordered her to return to Tokyo. Victory in war is always determined by the power of Noble Arts, and both Kurono and Appleton have the power to turn the tide of war just by themselves. What everyone else can do now is maintaining their line of defense and evacuating citizens to the shelters.

Since the operation in Tokyo is going quite well, Itsuki is currently more concerned with the situation in Kyushu. The blizzard started by Tendou will cause sick and injured people to start dying tomorrow and it’s difficult to do something about it without Kurono. Moroboshi is the only weapon they have that can reach Tendou but it’s unreliable to rely on just one weapon. Support from the League will take time to arrive since Japan is almost on the other side of the Earth for the range of Norman Creed’s “Divine Gate”. Itsuki then receives a communication from Kaieda and Touka who says they have a way to defeat Tendou. After listening to Touka’s explanation for some time, Itsuki agrees that another way to defeat Tendou other than Kurono and Moroboshi’s Noble Arts is to attack him with a greater magic power. The method Touka proposes can make it possible but it’s still a small possibility and in addition, a large number of non-combatants must be involved. This kind of operation would not normally be permitted by Itsuki who believes people should not seek or challenge achievements beyond their abilities and waste time and resources for a small possibility. But Touka doesn’t back down and Kaieda supports her by saying that preparations are already complete and so Tendou can be defeated as soon as possible if they have permission. Even Itsuki’s secretary also supports this which causes Itsuki to think hardly about this. He now understands that his decisions as the head of an organization are just his personal opinion and that an organization is not a collection of machine gears but a group of people. Itsuki then says it’s confirmed that a second US fleet is heading to Tokyo and so reinforcements to Kyushu is delayed. He also asks Touka if she can defeat Tendou while shouldering the future of everyone in Kyushu. Touka replies that she can’t defeat Tendou by herself because she’s weak, but she also says with confidence as shown in a pic that she can win with everyone’s help. Touka’s determination convinces Itsuki to approve the operation. Itsuki also tells Touka that even if her self-assessment is low, B-rank knights are judged able to shoulder the existence of a nation.

After Touka leaves the meeting, Kaieda says that he didn’t expect Itsuki would agree on something that looks like betting. But Itsuki replies Touka had the eyes of someone that can overcome fate which he has seen before in Ikki. Itsuki can believe in those eyes and Kaieda does too which is why he let Touka in charge of the operation. Touka informs everyone involved in the operation that they have permission to proceed with the operation. Touka thanks them for their help and they also thank her for letting them help. Moroboshi then shows up together with Kuraudo as shown in a pic, which surprises Touka. Kuraudo complains about being here in Kyushu even though he is supposed to be fighting in Tokyo. Moroboshi says he and Kuraudo will serve as the first and second weapons that will keep Tendou occupied while Touka as the third weapon will get prepared, though there is a chance Moroboshi and Kuraudo on their own will defeat Tendou. Touka doesn’t know what Moroboshi is planning but she says she’s relying on him. They then bump fists and proceed with everyone else to begin the operation.