Chapter 266: Only a Storm Can Topple a Great Tree

The sunset's glow set the sky ablaze in orange-red.

Only then, as the sole Qingxing person, Feng Mingyi, overwhelmed by a string of events, stood frozen in shock.

"Wait—you're…?"

He looked immensely strong, muscles bulging like marble, even his clothes unable to conceal them, instead stretched taut by their bulk.

"The concert wasn't late after all."

"Now, leave it to me…"

After uttering these words, the stranger gently laid the gravely wounded Kanade down, then stepped forward with steady, deliberate strides before Feng Mingyi could fully react.

Facing hundreds of noise, unarmed and not a War Maiden, he adopted a bizarre yet awe-inspiring combat stance like a North American grizzly, baring a terrifying grin of gleaming white teeth.

Then, a ferocious aura surged upward from the towering figure—growing taller and taller until it filled the entire field of vision.

"Listen well, my ultimate ★song☆!"

He raised both hands high above his head, slightly apart; his exceptionally developed deltoids and broad, thick back muscles swelled upward, while countless tendons crisscrossed his back like coiled dragons.

The killing intent was so thick it became tangible, forming crushing pressure.

"Let your blood begin the sacrifice…"

He glanced briefly at the army of human enemies, a flash of sharp light darting through his dark, deep eyes.

"Open your eyes, Hibi!"

"Even in hell, you won't see a slaughter this magnificent~"

At his call, Hibi Hana, who had been unconscious with eyes closed, reflexively opened them; her dull pupils involuntarily reflected that magnificent, awe-inspiring strike…

(Mysterious voiceover begins)

Let them witness it, Jia Sanlang!

(Mysterious music begins)

*You are Shock*

Jia Ji clenched his hand raised toward the sky, gathering the boundless pure blue energy swirling around him into a single point.

"Whirrrrrr—!"

"Boom—!"

Then, as if something had burst free from within, a terrifying, hollow roar suddenly echoed from the void—it may not have been a physical sound at all.

——'Northern Dipper Shatter Fist'!

He thrust his fist upward, then slammed it down with brutal force.

The trajectory of that fist, the overwhelming punch force, surged like a tidal wave descending from the heavens, striking straight into the heart of the noise army.

Before Feng Mingyi could even comprehend what had happened, the sudden violent force startled her face, followed by a crushing shockwave like a stormwind; she instinctively drove her sword into the ground before her.

Under that wind pressure, the girl was pushed back dozens of meters, barely avoiding being blown away.

"Wha—?!"

A deafening roar erupted from the center of the noise army, accompanied by staggering force that surged outward, shaking the entire arena capable of holding one hundred thousand people.

Pure, unrestrained power shattered the stage layer upon layer, like rippling water; steel and stone surged in successive waves, unfolding like petals of a blooming lotus.

But…

"It's useless."

Her long hair fluttered wildly behind her as Feng Mingyi stared at the dust-choked center, murmuring to herself.

Without being a War Maiden, it's impossible.

Just as only a storm can topple a great tree,

Only a War Maiden can defeat noise!

Humans cannot possibly combat noise!

The reason is one of noise's traits: 'Phase Difference Barrier'.

It is an ability that nullifies energy decay under ordinary physical laws by existing across different worlds.

The Self-Defense Force's 'Special Disaster Response Mobile Division, Section One' once fought a large noise army, but countless cannon rounds and bullets passed clean through noise's bodies, destroying only the buildings behind them.

This involves the concept of 'Existence Ratio'.

If quantified clearly, an attack dealing 500 damage would inflict full 500 damage on noise existing at 100% in this world, but noise existing at only 50% would take only half damage—meaning attacks have virtually no effect on noise whose existence ratio approaches zero.

In short, it's constant damage reduction.

Symphogear possesses the ability to harmonize noise existing across worlds and forcibly pull them back into this one, nullifying their Phase Difference Barrier. This is one reason Symphogear can effectively counter noise.

When noise attacks, it briefly increases its existence in this world, physically interfering with objects here and enabling direct attacks on its true form.

But that moment is fleeting, nearly impossible to seize—especially now, when noise's ratio is nearly zero; only War Maidens can even touch them.

So no matter how this man landed that earth-shattering punch, it was all pointless!

Yet something shocking happened again—

The drowned monsters were individually erased within that blinding, pure light; when all cleared, only drifting specks of ash remained—all noise vanished.

One strike, total annihilation!

"How… is this possible…"

The blue-haired War Maiden stood frozen in stunned silence—could there really be a male War Maiden?

Had Jia Ji known her thoughts, he'd have laughed.

"I've countered the eternal power of Hoshizora Kaguya—what's this batch of mass-produced trash?"

A mere Phase Difference Barrier? Just smash it with a punch.

Compared to that time with Tsukuyomi, when I barely broke through with all my strength, knowing this enemy's trait in advance, I simply drove my punch straight into their bodies in the other world—if I couldn't do this, I'd have wasted all those times I rode Yagami Shikie's dimensional courier service.

Noise may be an unsolvable monster to humans who haven't touched spatial technology, but to someone like me—a top-tier powerhouse—it's just a slightly inconvenient weed; any equal-level expert could crush them easily.

After eliminating them, Jia Ji didn't hesitate—he leapt back to the two gravely wounded, glanced once at Hibi Hana's chest, where a gaping hole yawned beside her heart, then immediately turned to Tianyu Kanade, his brow tightening sharply.

Clear favoritism—but Jia Ji could now sense the strength of a person's life force; though Hibi Hana was extremely weak and appeared mortally wounded, her life flame still burned steadily and firmly—she wouldn't die anytime soon.

As for Tianyu Kanade beside her… it was dire. Very dire.

After all, she had used 'Ultimate Song'.

(End of Chapter)