Chapter 265: A Powerful Piece of Music Begins

Why was Jia Ji so anxious, even desperate?

Just as in the Bandori world the number of band members cannot exceed five, the World of Symphogear also has a fundamental logic.

That is—every concert will end in disaster!

Each concert results in tens of thousands of casualties.

And it all begins with this one.

Countless collapsed spaces appeared around them—ground, stage, audience seats—all at once plunged into chaos, explosions and shockwaves erupted, flesh and blood flew instantly, causing massive casualties; the crowd erupted into panic.

Swish. Swish.

But what terrified people even more were the twisted figures oozing out from the space itself.

The entire space rippled like water, and monstrous forms—enlarged, colorful worms, deep-sea creatures armed with weapons—poured forth from an unknown world, covering the ground and sky.

"Noise!"

"Run!"

"Help!"

Ordinary spectators who recognized these sudden monsters involuntarily lost control of their bowels…

Humanity's enemy—Noise!

Uncommunicative, uninterpretable, unpredictable.

Designated eleven years ago at the United Nations General Assembly as the collective term for anomalous disasters.

Their shapes vary; though some possess weapon-like attack methods, all Noise share one defining trait—

They attack only humans, and mere contact instantly converts any human into carbon ash.

There is no effective way to repel them; aside from converting an equal volume of human carbon into carbon blocks that collapse, one can only wait for their inevitable self-destruction after a certain time.

The monsters of myth and legend were, in truth, mostly Noise.

Towering Noise, several stories high, vomited forth—its segmented body shuddered, and swarms of tiny, tadpole-shaped Noise surged out like a tide, rushing toward the audience at speeds humans could not escape.

To be grazed, brushed, even touched by a single finger meant instant transformation into carbon residue—this trait made them humanity's ultimate predator.

In the chaotic, boiling arena, grotesque monsters ran rampant. If entry had been orderly, within this nearly sealed space, the sudden release of lethal creatures turned the hundred thousand terrified souls into a single thought—escape!

Run as fast as you can!

You might not outpace the Noise, but if you run faster than the person beside you, that's enough… after all, these monsters collapse once they've consumed enough people, right?

When the first person shoved and screamed while running, even those unaware of what was happening instinctively moved to survive—reason shattered, the last order collapsed.

Thus, a stampede occurred.

Hell followed.

Screams, sobs, curses—hundreds upon thousands turned to ash before their eyes, while more were trampled underfoot by their own mad kin, used as stepping stones, flesh and blood flying.

Most lying on the ground had ceased breathing; many heads were coated in blood, still bubbling from their mouths, eyes dimmed.

Piercing screams echoed across the entire city; the thick stench of blood filled the ruined arena…

The girl named Hana Hibiki stood frozen; always a half-step slower than others, she still hadn't grasped what was happening—her attention remained fixed entirely on the two idol singers.

Just as some people are office drones by day and Masked Riders by night, some idols are, in truth, Symphogear warriors!

—"Croitzalronzellgungnirzizzl!!!"

The soaring song sounded like a sacred chant.

Beneath the blazing crimson sunset, only two furious eyes glowed with crimson fire-crystal light, and a golden-red spear erupted violently!

"Boom!"

Faster than the song itself was the transformation of Tenba Kanade into a Symphogear warrior—her fierce, unstoppable divine spear!

It was an exaggerated spear: head and shaft clearly segmented, the tip like a parasol point, the neck like a massive sword, heavy beyond measure—a unique weapon formed by the fusion of arm armor.

The girl clad in armor swung it with all her strength beneath the sunset; its strange metallic sheen cleaved through rolling dust and several Noise, splitting them cleanly in two.

Her body accelerated to full speed—her figure vanished from sight for an instant; in the rapid world, everything seemed to freeze—but less than a second later, dozens of Noise before her exploded into countless fragments, obliterated outright.

The furious spear, wielded by the once-passionate idol, danced like fireworks—rain of spears, wide and brutal, tearing through every monster in its path.

At the same moment, her partner Fūmei Yoku joined the battle with twin swords, greatly relieving the pressure.

The two Symphogear girls launched simultaneously, their speeds nearly identical, yet their postures differed greatly.

One was agile and swift, the other unstoppable and forceful; though their styles contrasted, their synergy was perfect—in mere seconds they carved a straight line through the entire formation like cutting vegetables.

The red-haired girl paused, drew a deep breath.

Then gripped her great spear, turned back.

She whipped the spear in a vast arc before her—combining ultimate strength and sharpness—then spun forward into the enemy ranks, the spear tip pressing directly against the body of a massive Noise.

She rotated the straight shaft with the flow of motion.

The next instant, the air across the entire field was drawn toward the spear; violent currents gathered from all directions, swirling dust giving visible form to the once-invisible gales.

LAST∞METEOR!!!

A tornado of meteoric dust erupted from the spear, its power piercing straight through the bloated body of the giant enemy.

Yet at the same time, the ground beneath Hana Hibiki cracked and collapsed under the shockwave, sending her crashing down.

"Ahh—!"

She clutched her bleeding left leg, cold sweat beading on her forehead from searing pain, struggled to rise but could not.

Several small Noise, drawn by the ground's collapse, abandoned the red-haired Symphogear warrior and scuttled on strange, tiny steps toward the ordinary girl with a knee injury.

A girl who had never fought, who until today had lived an ordinary life as a middle school student, felt death draw terrifyingly near for the first time.

Her pupils shrank sharply; unspoken terror flooded her body, paralyzing her completely.

"Shhh!"

The dispersed air currents surged outward; the red-haired Symphogear let out a thunderous roar, streaking straight toward them and cleaving the several two-meter-tall Noise into pieces.

"Run!"

Crimson hair fluttering in the wind, clad in an orange bodysuit with armored components, her figure stood like a Valkyrie between the girl and humanity's predator—unyielding as an iron wall.

A shiver ran through her; no time to think—under this near-command tone, her body ignored the pain; Hana Hibiki gritted her teeth and limped away.

Seeing the chestnut-haired girl, who had seemed stunned, finally move, Tenba Kanade exhaled in relief.

But separating from her partner left her in grave danger.

Small Noise shifted form, becoming bullet-like, specialized killing units, launching from multiple angles at Tenba Kanade.

"Damn."

The red-haired Symphogear swung her spear horizontally; the vortex she created became an impenetrable barrier, annihilating incoming Noise—hundreds of direct clashes in moments, energy bursts spewing from every impact between Noise and spear.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Fragments from the attacking Noise were fine and dense, inevitably piercing the barrier and striking her armor; deep cracks appeared silently.

The remaining two giant Noise turned their attention to her; without time to breathe, they aimed horn-like appendages from above at the immobile girl.

Acidic liquid, stronger than high-pressure water jets by dozens of times, poured endlessly upon her.

"Ughhhhh—!!"

She roared with all her strength; sweet metallic blood surged up from her chest.

I cannot retreat!

There are people behind me to protect!

Within the endless waves of impact, immense force, terrifying kinetic energy—all were blocked by Tenba Kanade's desperate resistance; where she stood, a radius of several meters was shrouded in black and brilliant white lightning.

Dense air currents formed a transparent shield before her body; corrosive acid, before touching her, was swept aside and pushed back by the raging winds.

Boom!

A thunderous explosion echoed; a series of cracks rang out; Tenba Kanade's face turned instantly pale.

She held firm—but her already damaged armor could not endure.

With a sound of shattering, fragments of armor flew outward, their kinetic energy tearing through the air with vicious whistles.

Beneath this sound, fragments like meteors flashed—like fate's choice—piercing into the girl behind the idol.

"Pthhhhh—!"

A crisp, clean tear echoed as flesh was cut; blood erupted from the girl's chest like a geyser.

As if her spirit had been shattered, she could not even cry out in pain.

"No… don't die!"

Tenba Kanade rushed over; having survived this wave of suicidal Noise attacks, the area around her cleared instantly—the two giant Noise were lured away by Fūmei Yoku; she frantically lifted the girl, grievously wounded by her own mistake.

The small body lay limp in her arms like a broken doll.

Through dusty skin, Tenba Kanade felt her cooling; a wound near her heart gushed blood continuously.

A pool of blood spread beneath the girl's body, now turning cold, slowly staining the ground red.

Tenba Kanade's heart sank; she stared at the motionless figure, her face turning deathly pale.

Such a fatal wound—even if rushed to a hospital now, survival chances were minuscule.

Not to mention, dozens of Noise still watched hungrily, and her own armor was nearly shattered; escaping now was as impossible as climbing to heaven.

"Open your eyes! Don't give up on living!"

The red-haired Symphogear cried desperately—but faced with this, she had no solution, no solution at all…

Her lips trembled faintly, as if trying to speak, but only gushes of blood spilled out…

Seeing the girl's faint life signs, Tenba Kanade seemed to make a decision.

Is there no way?

No,

Perhaps there is one final way.

Lifting the spear now on the verge of collapse, those deep red eyebrows burned like twin flames as the battle maiden strode forward with resolute expression.

Her entire body was covered in wounds; the skin that once gleamed pale and smooth under spotlights was now caked with dust and blood, her trembling right arm raised the spear high.

In her eyes burned the color of a soul ablaze.

As an idol, she would give her audience one final song—performing…

——"Final Chorus"!!!

"Gatrandisbabelzigguratedenal…"

"Emustolronzenfineelbaralzizzl…"

"No! Don't sing!"

The desperate cries of her distant companions were drowned beneath the roar of her burning life, utterly unable to stop what was coming.

"Gatrandisbabelzigguratedenal…"

"Emustolronzenfineelzizzl!!!"

Whether the burning flames, the surging noise, or the dust in the air—everything in this world slowed to a crawl in that instant.

In the next moment, a trickle of blood escaped the slightly upturned corner of the girl's lips.

Then, as if her soul erupted forth, a colossal, radiant light exploded slowly but steadily from Tianyu Zou, sweeping upward to the heavens and downward to the earth, instantly threatening to engulf the entire horde of monsters surrounding her, turning all the noise into…

"I can hear the song…"

With this final thought, as Lihua Xiang closed her eyes and her consciousness slipped into darkness, a bright, dazzling light began to violently tremble…

A roar like a tidal wave erupted, shaking the heavens and trembling the earth.

"Stop the Final Chorus—AAAAAHHHHH————!!!"

The opposite side of the girl band!

Kuangxiao Chengnan, finally appears!

Amid the thunderous crash, a powerful figure and a violent white light slammed down before the unconscious girl Xiang.

Layer upon layer of ground shattered, revealing deep fissures; the spot where the figure landed sank slightly, forming a massive crater.

THUD!!

With a muffled thump as he leapt from the ground, the figure vanished and reappeared behind Tianyu Zou, delivering a super-speed palm-strike with unstoppable force—lightning-fast, he knocked the singing goddess unconscious as she revealed her "Final Chorus face."

After gently placing the bloodied singing girl beside her own group member, he took her place, facing the remaining human enemies—the noise—and opened his mouth.

And in place of Tianyu Zou's Final Chorus came…

"A bowl of shrimp! Love makes the sky fall!"

A powerful, intense melody blared forth—as if it were an ancient song!

The next instant,

A devastating, world-shattering diamond fist was unleashed.

(End of Chapter)