Chapter 294: Only the Fist Is True Injury

Future wasn’t wrong—Hana Hibiki is changing now, no longer the girl she once was; no matter how it happened, she began changing the day she met Jia Ji.

A change from which she can no longer turn back—

In the past, Hibiki would have been utterly lost in such a situation; she was always clumsy, unintentionally causing those around her to worry.

But Future really is a child burdened too heavily by emotion…

Facing the terrifying, nearly devouring black depth of gravity emanating from Koyuki Mirai—Hana Hibiki’s reply was—

“Future… I really am a fool…”

The girl closed her eyes, head bowed, suppressing the urge to cry—tears would serve no purpose here.

She had made a promise with the people of Division Two—not to reveal anything about the Symphogear wearers, even under these circumstances.

There were reasons she couldn’t speak.

But now that she understood her friend’s heart, how could Hana Hibiki remain indifferent?

She reached out her hand to the weeping Future.

“So come with me—

Let these eyes witness what has happened to me! If it’s Future, you’ll understand!”

If words cannot convey it, then let action prove it.

…

Uniformed personnel stood guard all around, their cordon stretched around the ruined building, keeping the bloodthirsty spectators outside; each carried varying degrees of killing intent, their bodies robust—clearly no ordinary security.

If combat broke out, they might lack the terrifying combat power of Fūmei Genjūrō, but they were certainly no match for ordinary terrorists.

Over these days, tourists, experts, opportunists, and malcontents—every kind of person—had gathered, each with hidden motives, drawn by the golden statue that had fallen from the sky; despite repeated warnings from the British government, nothing helped.

To prevent accidents, the government had summoned its most elite troops, all to guard this place.

And under pressure from other nations, as well as its own immobility, Britain had no choice but to join with other countries for joint research.

Yet so far, they had discovered nothing at all.

“Ah… Hibiki, you’re here! And this one is…?”

Sakurai Rikako, who called herself “a capable woman,” squeezed out from the crowd with a smile after receiving the message, greeting the two girls who had come from a foreign land.

Amid the roaring crowd, no one noticed these two East Asian girls, barely in middle school.

Koyuki Mirai instinctively sensed something strange about this odd auntie, and shrank back behind her friend.

To find out what had happened to her friend, she had resolutely come to Lunduncheng with Hana Hibiki; everything around her—people, events, objects, language—felt alien and filled her with unease.

Yet she did not regret it.

“Any new findings?”

Hibiki’s voice was calm, but her expression startled Future—it was a sadness she had rarely seen.

“Hmm… though we’ve made no major progress yet—” Rikako seemed pleased with Hibiki’s question, flicking the report covered in waveform graphs, deliberately dragging out her words.

“But he’s not dead yet…”

Sakurai Rikako declared.

Beneath that unbreakable golden shell, they detected faint brain activity.

“What exactly are you talking about…?”

Future asked, confused; though she hadn’t understood what happened back home, once she arrived at the scene, she inevitably picked up some information.

Not dead…? Could this be referring to the statue everyone’s talking about? How could that be?

But at that moment, Hibiki—who had held her hand tightly since boarding the plane—gently shook her head, then pierced through the crowd to point at the central object. “That’s my Master… the man you saw that day.”

She wasn’t surprised by Rikako’s words—she had always believed Jia Ji wouldn’t die so easily.

“Hibiki…”

Future still couldn’t accept that her friend’s Master was a golden statue—but this time, she chose to believe Hana Hibiki.

“I’ve spent these days thinking—what should I do? What can I accomplish with my own strength?… But once I arrived here, I knew…”

The War Maiden—Hana Hibiki—spoke with absolute certainty, as if stating a simple, self-evident truth, one that needed no explanation, only acceptance.

“My Master helped me a great deal—so now it’s my turn to help him.”

Her eyes blazed with astonishing intensity, burning with a fire fueled by sheer will!

Jia Ji had entrusted everything to her.

In other words, this was something only she could do.

…

If it’s to be done, it must be now…

Only now!

“Balwisyallnescellgungnirtron—”

The girl’s light brown short hair suddenly lifted, brilliant light wrapping her entire body like chains.

Angular, hardened battle armor, orange-and-white bodysuit, headpiece, battle boots—appeared one after another on Hana Hibiki before Koyuki Mirai’s stunned gaze.

Transforming openly, in broad daylight?

She clenched her small right fist; her arms were sheathed in pure white bracers the color of the sky; her white forearms gleamed in the sunlight like steel.

Her bones cracked loudly as she stepped forward, toward her goal; each heavy step shattered the ground beneath her, turning stone into fine dust that sprayed outward.

An unstoppable aura rose from her.

Those who had been loudly debating suddenly felt a chill run down their spines, trembling as they stared at the girl whose face was hidden by a long, blade-like scarf.

Without a word, they parted, clearing a straight path ahead—some nearly wet themselves.

“Girl, you shouldn’t be here…”

“No entry!”

“Stop right there!”

The black-clad guards noticed the disturbance instantly—uniform movements! Uniform gestures! Uniform barriers!

They formed an unbreakable wall with their bodies.

“Please… don’t stop me!”

In an instant, the girl became a blur too fast for the eye to follow, fist clenched.

Her target—Jia Ji!

(End of Chapter)