Chapter 275: Battle Maiden Hibiki, Evolving Every Second

"Hibiki, let me see your limits!"

"Ooooh—"

……

After an unknown length of time, the ever-energetic middle school girl collapsed onto the ground with a loud cry.

Like a exhausted puppy, she panted with her tongue out, sweat dripping into a small stream.

"I… can't anymore! Master, let me rest!"

"I didn't have such good conditions back then."

"Ha… ha… I really can't move anymore."

Hibiki gasped heavily, refusing Jia Qi's fifth offer of a quick-recovery blue pill—her body might still endure, but her spirit could not.

Striking with full force, her body coiled like a drawn bow, storing power again and again, then releasing it through her limbs—this consumed far more mental energy than one might think.

In the song "TreasurePleasure," she seemed to develop an illusion: countless powerful warriors and opponents, their fierce, life-or-death battles, poured into her mind through the melody.

Without reason, she simply felt the blazing fire of determination hidden behind the song—and resonated with it.

With the BGM's enhancement and guidance, and with an exceptionally powerful warrior as a willing target for unrestrained attacks, Hibiya Hibiki achieved progress so astonishing even she was stunned—accelerating a hundredfold beyond normal speed, all before her physical strength gave out.

The first principle of punching is the Three Great Harmonies and Three Small Harmonies.

Power rises from the feet, rotates through the waist, and erupts from the shoulders—this forms the Three Great Harmonies; extending the shoulder, shaking the elbow, clenching the fist—this forms the Three Small Harmonies.

The same logic applies to kicking; from this foundation, gradually progress through basic stances: Bengquan, Hengquan, Paochui, Bian, Xizhoulunpi, Jiandadantui, and other fundamental limb techniques.

Within this short time, though her human physical capacity had not increased much, Hibiki could now, with the body of an ordinary girl, achieve the one-in-ten-thousand "movement like a drawn bow, strike like thunder exploding," along with fluid, seamless combos.

Her rate of evolution was simply monstrous.

Within a single day, she had nearly mastered all ordinary martial arts and taken a giant step further—given a little more practice, her combat skills would be no worse than the Hibiki from her original timeline.

"But 'not losing' isn't enough…"

Jia Qi raised one index finger toward the sky.

"The Battle Maiden Hibiki is evolving every second!"

"You've already mastered ordinary martial arts. Now I'll teach you specialized fantasy martial arts…"

"Not those Southern Dipper something fists, right?"

Hibiki knew he possessed many special fist styles named after the Southern Dipper—just a flick of his bare hands could tear through steel, looking incredibly powerful.

"Unfortunately… as far as I know, among the one thousand and twenty-four Southern Dipper schools, none of the Southern Dipper Strike Spear Fist styles fully suit your Battle Maiden body…"

"Then what should I do?"

The girl asked curiously; she had also heard from others that although her new, cheap master was powerful, he had not yet earned the qualification to transmit the all-encompassing "Northern Dipper Divine Fist."

Jia Qi smiled mysteriously. "I want you to awaken it yourself—awaken the fist style most suited to you… through this!"

Then he pulled out a computer from some unseen corner and opened a classic animated series from the last century.

"Huh?"

—When the Special Disaster Response Mobile Unit's Second Division arrived on scene.

First they saw the park, transformed into a battlefield, shattered by countless artillery shells; next, two figures—one large, one small—sitting upright amid the ruins, before them a playing animation…

"Why is it… 'The Simpsons'?"

Fumine Genjuro, commander of the Special Disaster Response Mobile Unit's Second Division, muttered the cartoon's title in astonishment and confusion.

His voice seemed to stir one of the figures; the person slowly rose, brushed dust from their body, then turned around with hands in pockets. Upon seeing Fumine Genjuro, they raised an eyebrow, showing clear interest.

Special Disaster Response Mobile Unit—a government agency deployed when Special Disasters called Noise appear.

For example, in "Umi no Koe," the Kōhakumyō Sect's goal is to fight the White Face; in "Toriko," the Association manages Food Hunters and gourmet; because supernatural disasters exist, "Shokugeki no Sōma" has a Supernatural Disaster Response Room; similarly, organizations like the Black Cloak Agency, General Headquarters, and the National Yin-Yang Bureau all emerged to handle specific threats.

In a world where Noise monsters exist, naturally, there must be an agency to counter them.

It is divided into First and Second Divisions.

The First Division primarily handles evacuation guidance, rerouting Noise paths, and managing disaster aftermath—when ordinary people hear "Special Disaster Response Mobile Unit," they picture the First Division as portrayed in media reports.

In contrast, the Second Division—while also handling Noise disaster response—has one decisive difference: possession of the Symphogear System, the world's most advanced method for eliminating Noise.

It also handles classified intelligence.

So it was only natural they arrived to confront Jia Qi, who had suddenly appeared, kidnapped a girl from the hospital, and caused chaos.

"Didn't expect the Second Division's commander to come personally."

Jia Qi sized up the man before him—the strongest human in the Battle Maiden world: Fumine Genjuro.

He wore a deep red shirt, a tie tucked into the chest pocket, broad shoulders, wild hair and beard, a square-faced visage with sharp features, a compact, massive frame, and an imposing presence; his bronze skin gleamed like metal, his height exceeding 1. meters, giving off an overall aura of lionlike power.

If he swapped the red shirt for a black martial arts uniform, he'd be an entirely different apex predator.

At that moment, Hibiki involuntarily turned to gaze at the two men facing each other—equally massive, equally tall, equally styled… equally terrifying in posture alone.

If they fought, she absolutely couldn't stop them—Hibiki understood this 【fact】 in two seconds.

Yet 【fact】 was not 【reality】. Just as Hibiki assumed they would surely clash—

"Thank you for stopping Sō's Final Chant!"

The man called Fumine Genjuro fixed his powerful gaze on this strange and dangerous human, yet his words carried sincere gratitude.

"It was only natural."

The next instant, two similarly massive hands—slightly differing in skin tone—clasped tightly together.

The air between their palms exploded under immense force, emitting a thunderous crack; a transparent sonic cone erupted, releasing violent ring-shaped shockwaves, as if summoning a miniature white tsunami—dust and wind whipped up, forcing the girl to squint.

In Hibiki's eyes, the two men's figures swelled impossibly large, towering into the clouds, like two titans locked in mortal struggle.

Their gazes met; after two seconds, they released their grip.

Then, unable to help themselves, they both burst into laughter.

"Hahahaha… Let's go, Hibiki."

Jia Qi called out to the bewildered girl, then boarded a government-issued black luxury sedan alongside Fumine Genjuro.

"Time to meet the first final boss."

(End of Chapter)