Shining Victory

Kirika cackled, "Ohohohohoho, so you've regained the fire in your eyes?" With a snap of her fingers, her body-hugging armour deactivated—revealing a different attire that showed her true colours.

It consisted of a red and black strapless sports bra, and torn blue gi pants that had a red flame design on the bottom of the left leg. They were tied to her waist with a red and black martial arts belt. Her pants were ripped to where the right leg was only covered mid thigh and there were several tears that showed the orange inside with one on her right leg revealing her blue and white striped panties. She also had a lack of shoes—and wore black fingerless gloves with red cestus gloves with six silver spikes on each hand. As an accessory she wore was a silver dragon charm in all-caps attached to two chains as a necklace.

Tsuruko suddenly averted her eyes, embarrassed by Kirika's attire. "...T-That looks both painful and embarrassing, you masochistic exhibitionist!"

"The fact that you're embarrassed by the values of others only proves how small you are!" That was Kirika's only response—smirking, "If it means fulfilling my ambitions, I'll show neither shame nor hesitation, even if I bare my breasts for all the world to see!"

Tsuruko, still flushed, only strengthened her grip on Dragredder. "Then I'll prevent your ambition from rising! Get r-ready! I'm gonna defeat you!" Kirika snarled like a wild beast, and quickly, Tsuruko darted forward, grasping her blade in both of her hands. Her eyes remained focused upon her foe. She quickly stabbed at Kirika's chest with Dragredder. Her skirt flowed in the heavy rain.

All of a sudden, Tsuruko's body lost all of its speed. "Ah, Tsuruko Sejren, you don't understand what it means to have a real world! What I am for...a world where every person in Earth Land will control their own destiny. A world of the truly free, dammit."

"A world of action, not words, ruled by strength, not committee!" Kirika declared, as she moved. If Tsuruko Sejren left an afterimage of a purple skirt in the blackness as she ran, Kirika Hotsuin melted into the darkness as he approached her prey, moving at a demon-like speed that didn't even allow Tsuruko to grasp the process of her approaching.

"Where the law changes to suit the individual, not the other way around. Where power and justice are back where they belong: in the hands of the people!" The moment she stopped next to the immobile Tsuruko, Kirika's clothes flapped in the air. Tsuruko was unable to respond to Kirika's approach; she had been looking at the woman advance towards her, but she couldn't perceive that the woman was standing right next to her.

"…!!" A cold sweat ran down her back; only now, she barely understood that she was facing someone akin to a bodhisattva. Instead of allowing herself to be caught, Tsuruko swirled around with no time to waste, she slashed forward, releasing a powerful blade of wind.

However...Tsuruko noticed that Kirika was no worse for wear. She wasn't just no worse for wear; her attack had barely scratched Kirika, if not dealt zero damage at all! "Where every person is free to think - to act - for themselves!"

Kirika had zoomed in, walloping her with a mighty haymaker—the force of which sent Tsuruko careening across the ground at an astounding pace, before Tsuruko halted her fall by thrusting Dragredder into the muddy ground, utilizing it as a brake. "Fuck all these limp-dick lawyers and chickenshit bureaucrats. Fuck this 24-hour MageNet spew of trivia and celebrity bullshit! Fuck Earth Land pride! Fuck the media!"

Uprooting her blade from the ground, Tsuruko exclaimed, "...W-What are you talking about!?"

Immediately, Kirika silenced Tsuruko, declaring madly, "FUCK ALL OF IT!" The moment that Kirika finished her rant momentarily, she translocated in front of Tsuruko, slamming her fist into the young girl's gut at extreme speeds, exceeding that of a bullet train, with enough force to send Tsuruko rolling into a gravestone in a similar manner to a soccer ball.

Kirika was nowhere to be seen for the briefest of moments; Tsuruko quickly glanced to the sky, noticing her foe about to slam down upon her head with a bone-shattering axe kick. Quickly, Tsuruko spun around, her hand gripping the ground to ensure that she wouldn't lose balance.

"Earth Land is diseased. Rotten to the core. There's no saving it - we need to pull it out by the roots." Kirika leapt in for a cross-counter at Tsuruko Sejren, who had just tried to hit her in vain. Immediately after she unleashed several precise boxing jabs, she drew back her fist. And then it mercilessly crashed into Tsuruko's face.

"Gh…!" A *BASH!* sound reverberated throughout the air. In a similar manner to a hammer, that was not by any means a flashy strike, much to Kirika's surprise. Still, Tsuruko's field of vision shook as she took the blow upon her nose, though it did not knock her out. However, faster chained attacks were launched at Tsuruko, who froze due to the pain. Face, chest, shoulder, gut, and then again face, face, face.

"Wipe the slate clean. BURN IT DOWN! And from the ashes a new world will be born." Kirika hopped away from Tsuruko's swing, following up with a distance-closing attack. The damage from Tsuruko's foe slowly accumulated in her body. Every time Tsuruko's body movement wavered, Kirika changed to a more daring action, dealing more and damage with every strike.

Tsuruko's train of thought was interrupted. "Evolved, but untamed!" *WHAM!* a thunderous roar echoed throughout the air. Tsuruko's train of thought was sent completely off the rails, as her consciousness definitely shook uncontrollably.

"The weak will be purged and the strongest will thrive - free to live as they see fit, they'll make Earth Land great again!" Kirika's movements were considerably greater; as she determined that the damage-saddled Tsuruko was already unable to deal with her extreme power. The blows became longer in interval; in return, Kirika's fists were slowly increasing in force.

"In my new Earth Land, people will die and kill for what they BELIEVE! Not for money. Not for oil! Not for what they're told is right." Receiving a face-crushing blow, Tsuruko's two legs staggered. If she were not careful; they would have been twisted around. Even when Tsuruko was paying attention to her enemy, Kirika's fists again came flying in.

Even with Tsuruko's vitals guarded by both her arms, the impact always slipped through the cracks of her defense. The damage was extreme, and thickened clots of a blackened substance gushed out from the cracks of her lip that caught it. "Every person will be free to fight their own wars!"

And along with an especially massive *BAM!!* impact, Tsuruko's body finally collapsed onto the muddy ground. Both of her knees buckled, and her forehead appeared as if it was about to hit the ground. Even so, Tsuruko placed her hand onto the earth, preventing herself from completely going down. Suddenly...Kirika helped Tsuruko up, grabbing her hand and lifting her to her feet, before dusting her off casually. "So...whaddya think? Sound like something you'd get behind, eh?"

"I was wrong...you're not a bad person..." Tsuruko paused. "You're absolutely insane."

A frown forming on her face, Kirika withdrew the GingaOh Driver as it was ablaze with a purple flame—as she wrapped it around her waist, scanning a black ring over her belt. Black light surrounded her body, engulfing her momentarily and forming a cocoon around her body, which quickly shattered; transforming into a golden and raven textured elegant gold Übermensch; dressed in the holy robes of a black sage showcasing its divinity, with a jagged, black wings, as the golden helmet's cold, azure eyes stared straight at Tsuruko Sejren.

Kirika summoned aura around her right hand, declaring "Vehemence Edge!" and threw an enormous blast of solar energy towards Tsuruko. The single blast crashed into Tsuruko's body, with several sparks and embers erupting from her body. A loud scream of pain slipped from Tsuruko mouth as she fell to her knees.

Kirika cracked her knuckles, "Very well! I'm gonna smash that pretty head of yours to pieces!"

"TSURUKO!" Tsuruko lifted her head up to see Gary and Excellen standing on the path, watching the fight from a safe distance; Gary himself was held back by Excellen. Floating in front of Excellen was an odd crimson stone that was levitated by her magic. "CATCH!"

The stone flew through the air towards Tsuruko, with Kirika not caring as she caught it. The stone quickly transformed into a red ring– Similar to the Transformation Rings she used to wear, however there were more details to the ring than the ones she used to use. Tsuruko took the ring and then looked to Excellen, "A magic ring? But… How did…?"

"It ends here, Ringed Wizard!" Kirika called out as she charged towards Tsuruko.

Tsuruko quickly slipped the ring on her left hand's pointer finger just as Kirika was a mere foot from her, and as Kirika lifted her fist up into the air, Tsuruko threw her hand over the buckle of the Phoenix Driver.

Tsuruko found herself surrounded by darkness.

"Mummy! Daddy!" Tsuruko turned around to see a young girl falling off a cliff—two major figures disappearing from the girl's sight as she landed, falling to the ground and crying loudly.

Tsuruko's eyes widened as she exclaimed, "...!! This is...!!"

"Hehehe, isn't it nostalgic?" Tsuruko turned to the side to watch herself looking on at the scene before her, a cruel smile on her face. The cruel Tsuruko chuckled as she watched the small girl cry loudly. "This is where you gave into the darkness of despair. This moment, Tsuruko Sejren, is where I was born, and where your life fell apart!"

Tsuruko turned away to watch the scene, nodding solemnly, "...That's right."

The cruel Tsuruko laughed as she lifted her arms up into the air, gloating. "Hehehe, even now, everything about you is falling apart – Your new life's about to shatter like your old one."

"No," Tsuruko replied. The evil Tsuruko turned towards the real one as she lifted her hand up to reveal the newest ring she was just given. "This was the moment...I decided to become the paragon of hope. My parents' hopes live on within me, and empower me to this very day!"

"You really are foolish, Tsuruko Sejren." the cruel Tsuruko scoffed as its body began to transform, turning more metallic until it formed into the Star Phoenix symbiote. "You desire to use my power with me still trapped within your pathetic body. However, my power will draw you closer to despair, and you alone cannot hope to contain me."

"Uh," Tsuruko pressed her finger to her lip. "Do you really understand?" Tsuruko replied as she kept the ring lifted. "I'm not alone anymore."

"...What." Star Phoenix questioned.

It was then that nine beams of light erupted around Tsuruko's body, making Star Phoenix reel back. Star Phoenix squawked loudly as the light began to engulf him, and Tsuruko smiled. "It's true that your very existence is a result of my despair, but using your power allows me to bring hope to everyone!"

When the light died down, nine bands of light were coiled around various parts of Star Phoenix's body. The symbiote snarled and tried to break free of the mystical binds, "...I...am...hope?" Star Phoenix looked at his bindings and laughed loudly, "Amusing! You wish to use my power? Very well, use it to your heart's content! But these chains will rust away eventually, and I shall be freed from this prison one day!"

"And when that day comes," Tsuruko replied as she casually lifted the ring in front of her. "I'll be sure to hold you back again, stronger than before!" A powerful light erupted around Tsuruko's body as Star Phoenix flew towards her.

Intense light poured out from Tsuruko's body as Kirika was about to throw her final punch, with the light actually blinding Kirika. The Phoenix Driver shone an illustrious golden as a large runic circle erupted from the belt and crashed into Kirika, sending her spiraling backwards.

Tsuruko stood up as the runic circle began to engulf her. When the ring passed over her, a large golden phoenix erupted from Tsuruko's chest and flew around her, engulfing Tsuruko's body in the lights of the stars; Tsuruko's true Soul Armour manifested—azure and silver, with crimson fang-esque attachments adorning her facemask—overall, it had the motif of a bullet train. Tsuruko proclaimed confidently,

"Kirika – You're really strong, and you want to make a wrong world to fill that void of yours. Me? I've got a different problem. Ever since I got these powers, I felt like I lived in a world made of cardboard. I gotta take care to not break something, or break somebody. Never allowing myself to slip to Star Phoenix's control, even for a moment otherwise somebody could get hurt. But you can take it, Kirika, because you're the "Super Galaxy King". What we have here is a new opportunity for me to cut loose and show you a real SHOWTIME!"