Infinite Stratos - Volume 3, page 12
After Tabane-san finished her line, the particles of light gathered around her to form something.
Something appeared in front of her shoulders, 2 on each side, 4 in total. They all look like IS arm armor no matter the size.
"Is this Tabane-san's IS...?"
"Hm--? Far from it, Ii-kun. This is my mobile lab! On a side note, it's called 'I'm a cat' (I don't have a name yet)."
Tabane-san said that as she flipped her index finger up. Unexpectedly, those two right-hand-styled objects followed her action...what-what's going on, really...
"Okay, let's start."
After Tabane-san said that, she used the gaps between her fingers to pick up 10 tools, including screwdrivers, chisels, Swiss-army knife and all sorts of tools with unknown purposes.
"Funfu, raise your right hand if it hurts~"
And she added such a classic line before starting.
She used what looked like a Swiss-army-knife to cut off the joint on the IS arm (I really couldn't see it from the exterior), and then quickly used other tools to fix it in place. She then pulled out some mechanical parts and modified it. As this action was going on in five separate places, it really looked confusing.
Tabane-san was working on the toughest part, and the 4 floating arms were working on the rest.
Each unique finger of the arms seemed to have a lot of machinery and functions, as these arms were shooting out lasers from the mechanical fingers as these got to work.
However, what's most surprising is that Tabane-san didn't need any mechanical support as well—in other words, she's doing this alone without any hi-tech equipment or even protective glasses.
(How-How in the world can she deal with such intricate stuff...?)
And she herself is looking rather relaxed as she hummed, working at a fast pace to boot.
"Ha--Only the jaw's sent from afar~♪"
What do you mean by 'Jaw sent from afar'? I really don't understand Tabane-san's thought process.
Thinking about this, I suddenly exchanged looks with the anxious Houki.
"Wha-What's wrong?"
"Hm? No, it's nothing."
"Re-Really?"
"..."
"..."
Just like that, I continued to stare at her like that without reason.
"Wha-What are you trying to do!?"
Uh oh, I made her angry.
"No, it's nothing much—ADAA!!"
Just when I was talking to Houki meaninglessly, I got punched hard on the back of the head. This force definitely belongs to Chifuyu-nee.
"If you have nothing to do, learn from Alcott how to carry out a hi-speed battle."
"I-I got it."
*GOINK*, *POINK*, *DOIINNNGG*, with the BGM of these metal clashing together, I began to ask Cecilia...uu, seems like she's really dejected.
"Uh...I got scolded by Professor Shinonono, and I got kicked off the team. That's too cruel..."
"Hey, Cecilia. Heey, Heeyy."
"Yes...--KYAH!?"
Suddenly noticing that I'm staring at her face, Cecilia jumped up in a slight shock, and the equipment dropped down (luckily, it's a mini-screen). I quickly caught it.
"Woah, it's small, yet heavy..."
"Wh-Wha-What's the matter? Is-Is there anything...?"
"Well, Chifuyu-nee...no, Orimura-sensei told me to learn from you how to fight in hi-speed battles."
"I-I see!"
After hearing that, Cecilia's face immediately brightened. That's good. I was worried that she would be too depressed. It's better for a human to be happy than to be sad.
"Ah, ahem. Then, I'll give you some tips on what to look out for in hi-speed battles. Has Ichika-san used the hi-sensitivity Hyper Sensors yet?"
"Well, no."
"I see. I'll start explaining from here first. The so-called hi-sensitivity Hyper Sensors adjustments in a hi-speed battle would refer to—"
Cecilia put both hands on her hips and started explaining as per normal. At this moment, a voice interrupted,
"When using that, you'll feel that the world would slow down. Well, at the start anyway."
"Rin-san? I only just explained halfway through? Speaking of which, have you taken part in hi-speed battle training before?"
"12 hours. Well, not as much as Cecilia anyway."
Cecilia backed away, probably taken aback from Rin's response.
Even so, she coughed to clear her thoughts and explain again,
"The-Then, the reason why the slow feedback would occur is—"
"The hi-sensitivity Hyper Sensors would transfer such details to the pilot to sharpen the pilot's senses. In contrast, the pilot would feel that the world has became slower. But only at the beginning. You'll get used to it soon."
"Cha-Charlotte-san...? I only spoke halfway through—"
"More importantly, you should notice how much of the boost's left, especially when you use the [Ignition Boost], Ichika, so you have to be careful. In hi-speed battles, the rate that boost runs out will be twice the usual rate."
"Lau-Laura-san? I—"
"Also, as the acceleration will be faster than normal, the impact of ranged weapons will be even more devastating. One critical hit will be enough to cause armor damage, so be careful."
"EVEN YAMADA-SENSEI CAME TO INTERRUPT!! REALLY, WHY MUST EVERYONE COME AND INTERRUPT ME!?"
Cecilia finally got angry. It seemed that she couldn't take it anymore after being interrupted so many times.
"Ah—well, Cecilia."
"WHAT!?"
"Thanks for teaching me so much. Just tell me if there's anything else I need to take note of."
Completely enraged and losing her sanity, Cecilia sounded really crude, but got shocked after hearing my words. She blinked, not showing an angry look anymore.
"Huh, yeah, well, this-this is nothing. I'm Cecilia Alcott, the representative candidate of England after all. You can come and approach me if there's something you don't understand."
Fufun. She placed her hands on her hips and smiled. Yup, as per usual, I guess.
"Anyway, well, Ichika, your [Reiraku Byakuya] will be the key in this battle, so don't use [Ignition Boost]. That would burn a lot of energy."
The next person who spoke up was Rin. It seemed that she went through the last of her moving, so her work's done.
"Next, the thing will be how to defend. Really, it's better to have a shield to guard against an assault, but Ichika's always using his weapon with two hands."
Having ended her moving as well, Charl entered the conversation officially.
After that, even Laura and Yamada-sensei joined it. Though it's to plan for the battle, I do feel rather happy to have people gather around me like this.
(I must succeed no matter what.)
I again renew this determination in my mind.
◇
The time now is 11:30am.
The July sky is as clear as ever, and the strong sunlight lights the land.
Standing slightly apart from each other, Houki and I are on the beach. After glancing at each other once, we nodded our heads.
"Come on out, [Byakushiki]."
"Let's go, [Akatsubaki]."
Our bodies got instantly covered in light, and the IS armors formed around us as a result. At the same time, the floating sensation caused by the PIC and the Power Assist bring lightness to the energy, causing my entire body to feel a change throughout.
"I'll leave it to you then, Houki."
"My pride would naturally prevent any man from mounting atop a woman, but I'll make a special exception this time."
In terms of the battle, Houki will have to do all the moving, which means I have to ride on her back.
Though Houki immediately protested unhappily after hearing this method, it seemed that her mood was incredibly good, or is it just me.
(But then again, is this really alright...?)
Houki got her personal IS less than a day ago, and no matter how good Tabane-san's personalization and the optimization are, the pilot can't possibly have it easy.
(I'll have to protect her if something happens.)
Thinking about this, I reinvigorate myself.
"Even so, it's good that we're here. If Ichika's with me, we can do anything. Isn't that right?"
"Well, that's right, but Houki, the teachers already said that this isn't training. We don't know what will happen in the actual battle, so we have to be really careful—"
"I know that. Fufu, what's wrong? Are you scared?"
"Of course not. I say, Houki—"
"Haha, don't worry, I'll send you to the destination properly. Just wait calmly."
"..."
Anyway, she's been like this since the beginning. I know that she's really happy that she has a personal IS, but isn't she too happy now? I leapt onto the back of Houki's [Akatsubaki], unable to get rid of that anxiety.
"Orimura, Shinonono, can you hear me?"
Chifuyu-nee's voice could be heard from the IS public channel. Houki and I nodded our heads in response.
"The main emphasis of this plan is to take it out in one strike. Remember, we have to win in a short time."
"Understood."
"Orimura-sensei, I just need to support Ichika according to the situation, right?"
"Right, but you don't have to force yourself. That personal IS you just got hasn't been used in combat. Maybe something might crop up."
"I understand. I'll provide assistance as much as I can."
Even though she sounded really calm, Houki sounded really happy, or rather, too happy. Hopefully, it's just me worrying too much...
"—Orimura."
"Ye-Yes."
Chifuyu-nee's voice came over through the private channel, and not the public channel she just used. I frantically switched over to that line.
"Shinonono seems to be a little excited. Something may pop up in that situation. If anything happens, support her."
"Understood. I'll take note of that."
"I'll leave it to you then."
Then, Chifuyu-nee switched her voice back to the public channel and gave the order,
"Then, begin the operation!"
--The operation began.
Houki carried me and got up to 300m height in one go.
Wh-Wha-What's with this speed!? It's like [Ignition Boost], maybe even faster...!
[Akatsubaki] continued to move up despite carrying this heavy load, and managed to get up to 500m height within a few seconds.
"Confirming the link to the satellite...information check's complete. Confirming the target's current location—Ichika, let's go!"
"Oh, okay!"
Houki said that as she continued to increase Akatsubaki's speed. The legs and back parts spray out powerful energy, as to be expected of the [Fold-Out Armor].
(That's the [Fold-Out Armor] similar to the [Yukihira Niigata]—and the complete one to boot.)
According to Tabane-san's explanation, [Akatsubaki]'s [Fold-Out] has the functions of attacking, defending and agility, furthermore its IS armor seems to utilize this [Fold-Out Armor]. What will happen when it reaches full power...?
(But where did so much energy came from--)
"I see it, Ichika!"
"!"
The Hyper Sensors visuals show the target as if I was seeing it with my own eyes.
As the name indicates, the [Silver Gospel]'s covered in silver.
The strangest parts are the huge wings extending out from its head. According to the data, the silver-glow wings that are as shiny as the main body seem to have a lot of large boosters and wide-ranged shooting weapons.
(What in the world is the 'multi-direction' attack that the data indicated?)
--Either way, there's no time for me to think. We flew towards it at high speed, and I wielded the [Yukihira Niigata] in my hand.
"I'm going to accelerate! Reaching target in 10 seconds. Concentrate, Ichika!"
"Aa!"
Houki boosts the output of the thrusters and the [Fold-Out armor]. The speed's really shocking as it closes the distance between the two frames at a high velocity.
5, 6, 7, 8, 9...10!
"UOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH!!!"
With [Reiraku Byakuya]'s activated, I also activated [Ignition Boost] at the same time to close in on the [Gospel].
(I can make it--!!)
Just when my blade of light was about to touch the [Silver Gospel],
"WHA!?"
The [Gospel] actually turned towards me at maximum velocity and backed away in preparation for battle.
(Let's readjust the battle position—no, I'll just attack it like this!)
Since we're already in attacking range, it's too late to back away.
If that's the case, it's better to finish it off before the opponent counters.
However—
"Enemy suit confirmed. Switching into counterattacking mode. [Silver Gospel], movement start."
"!"
A mechanical voice can be heard from the public channel, but I can clearly hear obvious 'antagonistic intent', and a thought passes my head.
--I have a bad feeling about this.
And then, in less than a few seconds, it became reality.
*Swoosh!* The Gospel's body suddenly swung beautifully, dodging [Reiraku Byakuya]'s blade with inch-perfect precision. Even for an IS that has [Passive Inertial Canceller], this movement's still extremely difficult to pull off.
"Ku...! Those wings accelerated?"
Actually, there's a lot of high output multi-thrusters there, but I have never seen such accuracy at emergency velocity. For once, I have a whole new understanding to the term Classified Military Secrets.
"Back me up, Houki!"
"Got it!"
Anyway, it'll be bad for our side if we drag the battle on. I let Houki cover my back as I attacked the [Gospel] with a slash.
"Ku! This...!"
However, the [Gospel] swayed about gently and evaded at the last second, moving as if it was swimming or dancing.
As the remaining time for the [Reiraku Byakuya] was really little, I let out a huge swing at the [Gospel] after being bamboozled for so long.
And the [Gospel] didn't let go of this chance.
"!"
The silver wings, the armor with the thrusters on it expanded out like wings.
(DAMN IT! THOSE ARE--)
Cannons.
The Gospel presses the wings forward to aim the cannons at me. At the next moment, numerous bullets of light shoot out.
"KUU!?"
Those bullets were shot out with high pressure acting as the energy source, forming what looks like feathers. I thought they would hit the IS armor, but they exploded at the next moment.
The main armaments of the [Gospel] seem to be some explosive-type energy bullets, but the problem's—
(Even the firing rate is ridiculous...!)
The quantity and speed—this so-called rapid fire is really fast.
It's not really accurate, but since those are explosive bullets, one touch is enough to blow up a single crater.
"We're attacking from left and right, Houki! I'll leave the left to you!"
"Got it!"
Houki and I continue to do complex evasive maneuvers as we attack the [Gospel] from both sides.
--However, our attacks couldn't even reach it. The [Gospel] uses the specialized movements to dodge the attacks and counter. The uniquely shaped wing thrusters are used quite a lot, unlike what the unique appearance would indicate.
"I'll stop its movements, Ichika!"
"Got it!"
After saying that, Houki uses her blades to stab and slash, activating the [Fold-Out Armor] on her wings to match up with the energy blades that are formed as she attacks.
(Houki's machine is a monster too...!)
She uses [Akatsubaki]'s mobility and the [Fold-Our Armor] on different places at different timings, using emergency acceleration to bring herself closer to the [Gospel]. This wave of powerful attacks force the [Gospel] to defend itself.
"HHAAAA!!!"
--We can do it!
Thinking about this, I grip the sword in my hands tightly, but unexpectedly, the [Gospel] counterattacked.
"La...♪!"
The sharp sound of the machine rang. At that moment, the wing thrusters went all out blazing, 36 barrels in total, all aimed in different directions.
"Not bad...! But who's shaking you off!?"
Houki dodged the rain of bullets at the last moment as she closed in on the attack—there's an opening.
"!"
However, I'm moving in a completely different direction, down at the sea below.
"Ichika!?"
"UOOOOOHHH!"
I let the [Ignition Boost] and [Reiraku Byakuya] exert full power as I chase behind the last bullet and strike it down.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? THAT WAS A RARE CHANCE—"
"THERE'S A BOAT! THE TEACHERS SHOULD HAVE SEALED THE SEA OFF—DAMN IT, IT'S AN ILLEGAL TRAWLER!"
Even so, I couldn't leave it behind like that.
Kyuuuu...
The light on my [Yukihira Niigata] disappeared, and the [Fold-Out Armor] disappeared as well...I used up all my energy. I lost the one time to use it, and the key to this battle dissapeared.
"YOU IDIOT! WHY ARE YOU PROTECTING CRIMINALS...CAN'T YOU JUST LEAVE—"
"HOUKI!!"
"--!"
"Houki, don—don't say such disappointing words, don't do it! To actually lose sight of the weak, after gaining power...what's wrong, Houki!? That's not like you, not at all!!"
"I, well, I..."
Houki seemed like she was trying to hide her obviously wavering face as she covered her face with her hands. Seeing her dropped swords disappear into light, I panicked.
(That was [Limit Down]...! DAMN IT--!)
[Limit Down] means that the energy's used up. And right now, this isn't IS Academy arena, but a real battle.
"HOUKI--!!"
I threw my sword down and rushed towards Houki in a straight line, using all of my remaining energy to use [Ignition Boost].
(Please! I have to make it!)
In front of my eyes, the [Gospel] again got ready to fire in the same manner, and it's now aiming at Houki.
An IS armor with its energy lost is extremely weak, so even the 4th generation [Akatsubaki] should be about the same. Even if she preserves the energy of the [Absolute Barrier], she won't be able to take a hit once she takes the Gospel's rapid-fire attack.
