I Came Back but the World is Still a Fantasy!?

4-29: -A: Sacred Sword (3/4)

Frire wasnt happy about their ill-fated relationship either, so her expression was somewhat ugly, but because of that, the scene was somewhat ruined.

But why? Why is White Snow(Shirayuki) here!?

Aria really couldnt be bothered by that right now, though.

That silver that was exceedingly close to white, Aria remembered it all too well.

That was the loathful figure that so easily crushed their first rebellion.

Frires face could easily be seen through the visor covering her head, but it wasnt as though the person inside the exoskeleton was ever in question in the first place.

There was only person who could use it.

But if youre here, then whos that!?

Without averting her eyes from the person before her, Aria showed the situation below through a screen.

There, Frire could be seen lying motionless amidst the clouds of dust.

Thats a decoy projection. The same trick as your disguise.

Frire had given her a taste of her own medicine.

As Frire smiled, this time, it was Arias turn to bite her lips.

To think the day would come when I would be tricked by you! And I cant believe you actually brought Shirayuki with you!!

We owe it to you, Aria. Thanks to you using that incomplete Mind skill of yours so carelessly, it was possible to predict this situation.

Not by me, though, she said internally as she smiled a fearless smile.

Close Combat Quarters Assault Type Exoskeleton Shirayuki

That was the armor(sword) prepared exclusively for Frire Doneju.

She had taken the boys advice seriously when he told her that she would need it.

But even then you shouldnt have permission to use it. Youre just a civilian now, even if its you, youll still be punished for using it!

Its already been acknowledged that I can use it in times of emergency. All thanks to your little group that made this emergency situation possible.

Damn it!

Now then, as your former associate, I should at least ask Will you surrender?

If I did, will you treat me nicely?

Ill think about it after I beat till you cant move.

It was hard to believe the surrender of someone like Aria, who specialized in infiltration missions. Any surrender on her part would likely just be part of her schemes.

Especially given that this was a woman who had faked her own death. That wasnt someone whose words could be taken at face value.

I thought as much !i

Aria had been expecting that answer, however, and she immediately threw a lightning skill without any warning to create an opening, then fled to the skies.

No matter what she didnt want to be within Frires range.

But

Your favorite lightning, I see But, you underestimate me!

That lightning was only meant to keep her away, but unfortunately, it couldnt even hit the Valkyrie fluttering about in the sky.

Because of that Aria was only able to buy herself a few seconds at most.

Its been three years, and yet you havent gotten dull at all! As expected from you! Aria bit her lips and scattered some spheres in the sky.

Those sphere were originally the size of marbles, but then they transformed into 40 bird-shaped drones.

Frire didnt think it wise to jump into that, so she stopped in the air with her sword drawn.

The bird-shaped drones were about half the size of a normal adult, but when their wings were spread they were close to being 2 meters wide.

Air-Combat Drones, huh.

As those drones gathered together and obstructed her way, they looked just like a wall in the sky.

But whether they were a wall made of steel or paper depended on who they were facing.

Mind skills, robot hijacking, communication jamming Youve really prepared, havent you? Unfortunately, its not enough!

Fire erupted from the large wing boosters behind her, and Frire shot off like a meteor.

Aria opened the wall of drones and sent them up to avoid colliding into her, but then Frires skirt wings burned downwards to send her up.

I see youre just as stupid quick as ever!

The resulting G-Force from that insane acceleration and those 90-degree turns wasnt something that could easily be endured even with an exoskeleton, but Frires Resistance was so high that it didnt matter.

This absurd mobility was made possible only by her high Resistance.

10 drones gathered together like a wall to block her.

Move!

But before her, they were nothing but a wall of paper.

With her absurd acceleration, nothing could stop Frires charge, and the wall of drones was turned into junk with a single blow.

But regardless of the fate of the drones, a collision was a collision, and they did manage to buy Aria a moment.

Tch!

Beyond the wall of drones, Aria had slipped away once again, and Frire found herself clicking her tongue.

The only thing waiting beyond the wall of drones was a bouquet of muzzles a muzzle from Arias sniper rifle that was aimed straight at her from the front, and the muzzles from the Independent Floating Type Remote Guided Attack Terminals, the Gun Bits.

If Aria were an average soldier, Frire would have ignored everything and charged through.

But that sniper rifle of hers really did pack a punch, and as much as possible she would rather dodge or block it.

But if she were to slow down, the Gun Bits and drones would surround her and swarm her.

If she changed directions to dodge, the Gun Bits would go after her weak spots, and Aria was good enough to hit her thrusters when given a small opening.

Against someone like her, who specialized in medium to long-ranged attacks, losing ones mobility was a fatal mistake.

So what was Frires answer?

Charge on through anyway.

Have you lost your damn mind!? Aria yelled.

She suspected that Frire mustve had a plan of some sort, but all she could do now was to pull the trigger.

A beam just as powerful as the one from before headed straight for Frire, but Frire too headed straight for that beam, and then she swung her sword.

HAa!!

Slash

What!?

In the next moment, that flash of light that could gouge out the land was cut cleanly in two and fell.

But before it could fall, Frire was already pressing Aria hard.

Aria immediately shelved her shock and moved everything she could to try and resist.

Tsk, haa!

She had her drones throw themselves into a suicide charge at Frire from the side, while the Gun Bits attacked from behind, and she herself rapidly shot her rifle at Frires face.

Without any hesitation, Frire stopped herself with a reverse thrust and dodged the drones that headed to her original destination by a hairs breadth, and then she swung her blade as though she were spinning it.

I see youre as versatile as ever, controlling drones and bits, while handling your rifle at the same time.

I dont wanna hear that from you!

Frire was genuinely impressed, but to Aria, it just sounded like she was making fun of her.

Not only did her suicidal drones miss, she even cut her beam attack.

It was as if it didnt matter what the target was or how far it was. Frire just kept cutting everything she threw at her.

A closer look at Frires sword would show a dense concentration of photon clad around her sword that formed a giant blade.

That was why she could cut a photon beam and why the distance didnt matter.

Youve gotten even stronger! You can even cut a beam now!?

Someone told me that its better for me to just keep cutting than to try and dodge. It was really enlightening.

Well, he shouldnt have!

Aria had no idea who that person was, but she seriously wanted to complain to him.

As she put away her rifle, she brought out two giant hand guns and used the Shotgun skill on the light bullets they shot.

Tsk, thats going to make them into buckshots instantly! Your brain really works quick, doesnt it! Frire said.

As the buckshots shot out from the two hand guns, they covered the air space and made their way for Frire.

Frires sword was strong, but in the end, she could only cut in a line.

Unable to cut more than a side at a time, she had to decide whether to endure the attack or dodge.

Meanwhile, Aria corrected her posture.

But

What!?

Frires choice was again none of the above.

As she held her photon-clad blade in front of her like she was thrusting with it, she directed all of Shirayukis propulsion behind her and uttered the name of that skill.

Boost Crash!

The fierce blaze of photons once again turned the silver Valkyrie into a meteor.

But she wasnt just fast like before, this time she literally tore through the sky and easily passed through that wall of bullets without incurring even the slightest damage.

Just like a certain someone, Frire wasnt good at skills that moved her body.

Boost Crash was one of the few Charge Type skills with little movement.

It was considered a beginner level skill, but when coupled with Shirayukis acceleration, it reached a whole new level.

She made her barrier sharp!? No!!

With Frires blade pointed forward and her barrier sharpened around it, everything she passed by was destroyed, and now, she was headed straight for Aria.

Immediately, Aria threw all of her remaining bits and drones at Frire, but this time, they couldnt even buy her a moment.

KU! GAH!?

Bending her body to avoid a direct hit was the most she could accomplish.

Avoiding Frires meteor-like acceleration with her reflexes was nothing short of remarkable.

But unfortunately, while she may have avoided the sword and the barrier, she couldnt escape from the shockwaves of Frires charge.

It grazed just the armor of her left arm, but that was already enough to send her flying.

What a ridiculous

Dont move.

!?

By the time she tried to fix her posture while holding her incapacitated left hand, the silver-armored Valkyrie was already in front of her, and a sharp blade was pointed at her throat.

Aria refused to give up and immediately released a lightning skill from her entire body.

As Frires former associate, she knew exactly what it meant to stop in front of her.

Hmph!

Thats impossible!

Despite the damage she would be incurring, she released the lightning attack to keep Frire away and impede her sight, but a swing of her sword repelled all of her efforts.

She did managed to make some progress away from her, but she was still disturbed by what shed witnessed.

Thats too fast! What the heck is this!? Shes much faster than the data from 3 years ago!

The latest data on the official record of Frire wearing Shirayuki.

They recognized her as the greatest obstacle to their cause, so they did everything they could to acquire it.

But now her movements were all much faster than any of her previous record.

As Aria checked the data on her visor, she muttered in disbelief.

This is impossible! You were turned into an advertisement by the public relations department after my incident, and then you even wasted 3 years working as some crummy teacher, so how in the world are you so much stronger!?

Grenades rapidly shot from the gun in her right hand as astonishment filled her face.

Although she hadnt called out the name of the skill, Frire was still able to realize that shed changed bullets, so she moved away from her attacks and smiled.

No, thats not all! Since when did you change schools!? The way you fight is completely different from three years ago!!

Shes seen how shes moved before, but the way she was moving now was completely different.

With her speed, she never had to look at her opponents properly. She could just attack, and they would naturally fall.

Thats why Aria believed there was a weakness she could take advantage of, but Frire was too different now.

When she thought back to it, this whole time, Frire had been watching her before making her move.

The way I did things before was just too sad against him. It couldnt even be called a fight.

A wry smile appeared on Frire when her old friend pointed that out.

It wasnt just twice or thrice that a counter would knock her out as soon as she attacked.

When that boy sparred with her, whatever speed she came at him with, he would throw right back at her.

Who are you talking about!?

None other than the person responsible for your bad luck. Thanks to him, Ive been feeling really good lately! My body feels so light!

In her search for an answer against him, this was the result.

Fighting with him really was fun, Frire thought as joy filled her and she laughed.

Thanks to him, I can do this too!

Her smile still on her face, she looked at Aria and turned into a meteor for the third time.

With her otherworldly speed, she drew a trajectory in the sky that ignored the laws of physics.

How is that even possible!?

As Frire maneuvered in impossible ways and pulled off 90-degree turns left and right, all Aria could do was watch.

In fact, neither her sensors nor her eyes could catch the zigzag patterns drawn on the sky.

The only thing she could really catch were the traces of lights left by Frires thrusters and the explosion of the dead drones.

Fall!!

AHHh!?!?

Because of that Aria couldnt even respond when she was finally attacked from behind.

A powerful impact erupted as Frire crashed into her with that powerful speed, and together, they fell into the ground with Frire pushing her.

Again! Youve ruined my plans, Frireeeeeee!!

As her screams resounded through the skies, she was beaten into the very crater she created.