Innocent Origins

On a certain evening, this mysterious silver-haired boy was being bullied at the park beside the primary school he was studying at. Five students of the same year as the boy surrounded this boy, beat him up and even threw stones at him. The primary schoolboys were very direct in their attacks, not thinking through and not holding back at all. They were just doing it to satisfy and enjoy themselves. At the start, he tried his best to fight them off.

Students of the same age didn't have that much difference in strength. Thus, if they were all equal in strength, the side with more people would win. In this 1v5 situation, the boy couldn't possibly win, and got pummeled by them.

The boy was already somewhat isolated from the students in his class because of his silver hair and savage looking eyes. One day, a teacher who didn't know that he had mixed-blood scolded him in front of everyone in class, saying 'dyeing your hair at this age, are you a delinquent', and that sparked off everything.

Delinquents were bad. They could bully a bad person to their hearts' content. The children who derived this logic out of their childish reasoning didn't feel stricken with conscience at all. They called out some Masked Rider or fighter anime moves as they beat the boy up without mercy.

The boy wanted to play dead to prevent them from bullying him. However, his stubborn belief of not wanting to lose to these guys made him glare back at them and get up, no matter how many times he was beaten down.

But at that moment, a shining paragon suddenly barged in. With short-cut purple hair, glimmering eyes, and an attire so similar to a boy's, this person stood to defend the silver-haired boy. The children who were bullying the silver haired boy yelled at this person, telling them not to interfere. But that person stood right in front of them and shouted at them, "Don't bully the weak!"

"Who are you!? Why the hell are you helping this loser!?" The ringleader shouted.

"Tsuruko Sejren. Justice." That was the only reply.

Those children were drunk on their fantasy of being envoys of justice, and that sentence basically dampened their spirits. Thus, the five children who exerted violence on the boy treated Tsuruko as an 'enemy'. They rushed towards her, and just when their fists were about to hit her—The boy punched Tsuruko in the face with all his strength.

"!" Because of the boy's unexpected action, Tsuruko and the other five children looked stunned. "Wha-What are you doing!? I was helping you..." Tsuruko stuttered in disbelief.

With teary eyes, the silver haired boy glared at Tsuruko, and shouted, "I-I'M NOT WEAK!" To the boy, compared to the violence those bullies exhibited against him, the casual words of Tsuruko was the attack that hurt him the most.

Tsuruko was immediately stunned, and then laughed crudely, "Ahaha! Very good! You bastard!" As Tsuruko shouted, she punched the boy in the face mercilessly.

The punches of those bullies were nothing compared to Tsuruko's fist. That punch was hard, and hurt a lot. The boy countered back, and Tsuruko continued to beat him up. Tsuruko and the boy just left those bullies aside as they started fighting.

"DO-DON'T LEAVE US ASIDE!" One of the children who recovered immediately ran at the two.

"Don't get in our way!!" Tsuruko and the boy reacted in perfect chemistry and kicked him. Bully A cried out as he fell. The other children shouted as they rushed at the duo. Both of them stopped their battle and started fighting against those five bullies.

Just the fact that Tsuruko was fighting alongside the boy caused an unbelievable strength to rise up in him. For some reason, even though the boy struggled to stand up, his tired and battered body felt extremely light.

And once the battle was over, as Tsuruko and the boy won. The five bullies cried as they ran away. But to the boy, he didn't care what happened to them. Tsuruko felt that way as well. After those five ran away, Tsuruko and the boy started fighting again. And this battle ended up being a stalemate; as they were tired as they sprawled out on the ground. They were covered in dirt, scratches and bruises, looking completely pathetic.

Though his body hurt, for some reason, the boy smiled at Tsuruko. "You're rather strong."

Tsuruko's frivolous face gave an innocent smile as she said to him, "You're not too bad yourself."

The two really did something that would only happen in those hot-blooded shōnen manga. Ever since that day, they would meet up with each other in the park and play together. As they were studying in different primary schools back then they could only meet after school. But to each other, they were undeniably the closest duo in the world.

The boy said to her, "Birdy, my mum mentioned that it doesn't matter even if you can't get 100 friends once you graduate to your next class, you must find a real friend that you can treasure with the feelings of 100 people. Once you get this true friend that you can view as more important than anyone else, your future will be bright." Having a true friend he could treasure with 100 people's worth of feelings as compared to having 100 friends... that's a great line, he felt.

Tsuruko replied, "Then, I'll use the feelings of a hundred people to treasure you. Even if there's 100 people... no. No matter if it's a million or trillion people, even if the entire world views you as an enemy, I'll still be your friend." As she said that, she started blushing. "Ahaha, I'm embarrassed now..." She glanced away.

The boy felt embarrassed about it too as his face went red. And then, he and Tsuruko started laughing. They were undoubtedly true friends. That day, Tsuruko did make a friend that she thought could be considered her good friend. Right now, Tsuruko couldn't remember what that kid looked like, or even his name, but she remember that it was about 10 years ago when she first met him, when she was still living in Nine.

Goals
As Tsuruko opened her eyes, she saw the stinging sunset shining in through the window. The young girl was sitting on the sofa opposite, reading a light novel with that unhappy look like usual. There was no other person in the room other than that young girl and Tsuruko Sejren.

"It doesn't matter even if you can't get 100 friends once you graduate to next year, but you must find a real friend that you can treasure with the feelings of 100 people... is that so?" Tsuruko mind was still fuzzy and she unknowingly muttered what that buddy of hers said in the dream.

At that moment—Pak! The book the girl was holding onto suddenly dropped from her hands.

The buddy she separated from 10 years ago... How was he getting on? Was he still living in that street? What did he look like now? What was his name?

He called Tsuruko, "Birdy", as a nickname, and she seemed to keep calling him by his nickname, not his real name.

"Then, I'll use the feelings of a hundred people to treasure you. Even if there's 100 people...no. No matter if it’s a million or trillion people, even if the entire world views you as an enemy, I'll still be your friend. Then, I'll use the feelings of a hundred people to treasure you." What did she call him back then?

"...Ah, forget about it. That was a long time ago anyway. He definitely wouldn't remember what happened 10 years ago, right?" The Tsuruko Sejren back then would never believe that she would be thinking about him now. Regardless of important memories or the sadness of separation, there will be a time when everything changes. Could she really get a friend she'll appreciate for the rest of her life?

A tinge of loneliness struck her.

"...You all right? ...Can you hear me?" The girl asked in an innocent tone; staring intently at Tsuruko who came to.

"...Yeah...Anyway, you are?" Tsuruko immediately questioned; the girl's purity was enough to take her off-guard.

"...Uhm..." The girl couldn't even speak a word. "You okay?"

"...Where am I?" Tsuruko could only learn. From what she could see, everything was black.

The girl stuttered, "This is a church in Hargeon. You suddenly fell on top of me. You really gave me quite a scare...!" Incidentally, the puppet on her left hand slipped off and flew forward, she had stopped moving.

"...H-Hey!" Tsuruko in panic rushed over as she quickly stood up, and shook her small body. "A-Are you okay? Hey!" For the first time, she was able to see the girl's face. Her age should be around her early-tens. Her azure, fluttering hair was blue as the sea. Her soft lips had a pink colour and she was a girl that looked like a beautiful French doll.

"...!" And then, the girl opened her eyes, revealing her long eyelashes and her sapphire-like pupils.

"Ahh...I'm glad. Are you hurt somewhere?" After Tsuruko said that, the girl's face turned ghastly pale and her eyes were spinning round and round, then she sprung up as if she was trying to escape from Tsuruko. "If I landed on top of you, then you should really seek medical attention!"

"N-No...The roof and the flower bed must have broken your fall. You're lucky." She was trembling.

"...Flower bed..." Tsuruko glanced down. "Is this yours?" Tsuruko brushed her clothes off as if it were critical. "Sorry about that..."

The girl merely smiled at her. "That's all right. The flowers here are quite resilient because this is a sacred place. They say you can't grow grass and flowers in Hargeon; but for some reason, the flowers have no trouble blooming here. I love it here."

Tsuruko's weapon slipped out of its sheathe; clattering to the ground in front of the girl. "...Oh, sorry!" Tsuruko frantically reached for Dragredder; however, the girl also picked it up, glancing at the blade in awe.

"Is-is that a sword? A rifle? Sw-sworfle?" Her stuttering was absolutely adorable.

"Well, I could slice you with the sword form, or shoot you with the gun form." Tsuruko joked; as the girl jerked back in fright. "I'm joking, I'm joking! It's a fusion of a sword, and a gun. See..." She retrieved Dragredder from the girl, pressing a button upon the weapon as it underwent a complex transformation into that of a more compact, pistol-esque form. "It morphs on the go!"

The girl's azure eyes shimmered in awe. "...Where did you get it?"

"Ah, ya see, I created Dragredder from scratch. A hero always has a cool weapon—and what better than a mix and match weapon? Swords are everywhere; so are guns. So why not have a fusion of both? I tweaked it excessively so that I can use it better too; and while it's hard to get a hang of, once I managed to master it, there's no weapon better." She swung the weapon around for a few more moments, before stowing it away.

"...!" The girl widened her eyes and wanted to rush towards Tsuruko, but suddenly stopped. Although she wanted to retrieve that puppet, she made a face that expressed her fear of approaching Tsuruko, so she restlessly kept waiting for a better timing.

When Tsuruko saw the girl's state, she made a bitter smile. She then brought forward her hand that was holding the puppet to slowly shorten the distance.

"...!" The girl twitched her shoulders ——maybe because she realized Tsuruko's intentions, she crept forward and approached slowly. And then, she snatched the puppet from Tsuruko's hand and wore it on her left hand.

Suddenly, the girl started manipulating the puppet's mouth to open and close it. "Yaahh——, sorry 'bout that. You're a life-saver—" It was probably ventriloquism Tsuruko thought, as the rabbit made a strange high-pitched voice. Tilting its head to the side, it looked at the girl's face as though it was questioning her...And as if it wanted to barge between Tsuruko and the girl, the rabbit puppet continued talking; until the girl silenced it.

"We don't know each other's names, do we? My name is...Hikari Zanna. I was sent here by the Magic Council in order to get...rehabilitated. ...Either way, it is nice to meet you."

Tsuruko jerked back in surprise. "Even though Giselle said...the similarities are too obvious to ignore." She thought to herself, before she straightened up, answering, "Ah, my name's Tsuruko Sejren! I do a bit of everything."

...

...

The marching of military boots could be heard; as Hikari shivered in fright; clinging to Tsuruko's arms as a child would for a big sister. "...Tsuruka, have you ever been a bodyguard? You just said that you do everything...!"

Tsuruko smoothed her hair, focusing upon the exit. "Yeah, that's right."

"...Please get me out of here. I want to see Mother again..." Her voice was full of fear.

"She's in here! The Light of Disaster is in here!" The voices of the military resounded.

"I won't let you down!" Tsuruko declared.

Escape
"While I have no problem with rescue missions...everything seems to involve an awful amount of roof-hopping and running around these days..." Tsuruko sighed as she sprinted across the roofs of Hargeon, leaping from cover to cover as she held Hikari in her arms, carrying her like a bride.

Dashing across the rooftops of the futuristic city, Tsuruko focused more so on the exhilarating feeling of the wind blowing through her mystifying purple hair—at this moment, it truly felt as if Tsuruko Sejren was alive. Adrenaline pumped into her body as she moved faster and faster—all spectators could see was a purple blur zipping around on the roofs of the city.

"...Why are you helping me...? Hikari questioned. She had never experienced such kindness before—it was completely out of the norm, and such, surreal; alien.

Tsuruko looked down at the young girl in her arms, smiling with a reply, "I don't need a special reason to save lives, do I?"

Grinding to a halt; Tsuruko stopped in her tracks; having almost run off of a ledge. "Anyway, let's keep going. We'll try and get out of Hargeon, okay?" Tsuruko lamented that she couldn't get ahold of Giselle in this situation; her advice would be most helpful right now.

Regaining her balance, Tsuruko continued onwards; skipping and dashing around until she hit a dead end. As if they appeared out of thin air; several humanoid shaped robots, shiny metallic black appeared. Standing at roughly six feet tall, they viewed the world with a single red-tinted optical visor, which blinked when communicating or processing data. Melee spikes protruded from the joints and head, while large "fins" occupied the forearms. "...Robots!?" Tsuruko gritted her teeth; as she told Hikari, "Hold on!"

"What do you mean—" Without any warning, Tsuruko threw the young girl into the air like a boomerang. "—WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!" Hikari shrieked, as Tsuruko focused back on the numerous robotic opponents.

Instantly, the hoards of robotic oppressors let loose with their impressive firepower—Tsuruko, however, saw this coming from a mile away. Leaping high into the air, the roof which she was standing upon exploded violently, exposing the little old lady who was simply doing the dishes underneath; the elder looked upwards, shaking her fist. "Damn kids these days!"

In the air, Tsuruko performed an impressive somersault; as she slipped a ring onto her finger—magical energy surged down her entire arm before solidifying into the form of a giant rocket which is attached to her arm—it had six fins arranged in a regular hexagon; as well as several exhaust ports. "Rocket Ring, go!" Tsuruko declared; as the exhaust ports opened, propelling Tsuruko forwards. At sound-barrier breaking speeds, Tsuruko swiftly took the robots out with a series of powerful kicks, appearing as nothing more than a purple flame.

From the skies, Hikari watched on in astonishment as Tsuruko finished the ambush, kicking the last robot over the edge of the roof, as it fell into the murky waters; its complex circuitry malfunctioning as it was electrocuted.

Before catching Hikari, Tsuruko let out a brilliant one-liner, "Shocking. Truly, shocking." Catching Hikari, Tsuruko didn't waste time as she continued on her way; however, before that, she told the old lady, "I'm really sorry! I'll pack you back someday!"

Hikari was panicking, screeching at Tsuruko, "Why didn't you warn me!? Next time, think before you use me as a boomerang!"

"Hey, you know what they say. Little girls are a great weapon, and should be respected as such. Ahaha, I'm joking, I'm joking. Come on!" Tsuruko continued moving, as the remains of the robotic menaces deployed their backup plan—in an instant, hundreds and hundreds of missiles spewed forth from their twisted metallic carapaces; all headed towards the duo.

"...Gotta speed up, eh?" Tsuruko smirked; as her velocity increased, dodging and weaving around the missiles which narrowly missed her—all the while, Hikari was screaming like a little girl—quite appropriate as the salvos chased the duo down, with Tsuruko sprinting through town.

...

...

Reaching the outskirts of Hargeon, Tsuruko didn't slow down an inch, now running through the grassy plains. Hikari held onto Tsuruko, in fondness for her. Grinding to a halt, Tsuruko stopped and sat down. "...Haa, here we are!" She let Hikari down, placing the young girl down upon the cool emerald grass. As Tsuruko fell backwards voluntarily, she let out a deep sigh. "...Ahh, that's better."

"....I can't thank you enough, you know!" Hikari exclaimed, before she noticed that Tsuruko's left shoulder was injured—blood seeped lightly from it. Hikari speculated, that perhaps one of the robots had shot her. "You're hurt!"

Tsuruko looked at her shoulder nonchalantly. "Eh, it's nothing."

"Don't say that!" Hikari kneeled down to treat the wound on her shoulder; with Tsuruko waiting as Hikari bandaged it with a ripped off portion of one of her sleeves. "I'm sorry. It's all my fault..." She finished bandaging Tsuruko, who reassured her,

"Smile." Hikari glanced up at Tsuruko's face, as she pointed her index finger upwards, as if to teach her a lesson.

Suddenly, a butterfly fluttered close to Tsuruko, before landing on her nose, instilling a tickling feeling through her body. Peacefully, Tsuruko managed to get the butterfly to hop onto her pointer finger, as she held it out to Hikari. Amazed, Hikari touched the butterfly; as it flew off and onwards into the sky. "Listen, Hikari. Your smile, that's all I need. ...Anyway, mind explaining to me a bit? While I'm not one to just leave an innocent person in trouble, do tell me why you wanted to escape from those guys? Those guys mentioned the Light of Disaster. Is that why they're after you?"

Hikari straightened up. "Well, uhm, you see, yes. The name of the deity our country honors is Ragnarok...It is told that Ragnarok's rage would destroy the world.  His wrath comes in the form of the Light of Disaster. At the beginning of time, we almost faced the full force of his fury...So they sealed the Light of Disaster within me." Hikari's head pulsed; as her eyes shone golden, gazing straight at Tsuruko.

"...Your soul...It's warm..." From Tsuruko exuded a sphere which surrounded her that had a purple-like colour; possessing her ahoge and long ponytail. Tsuruko didn't even know what was going on, as Hikari continued, "It's full of light, warm and friendly. And yet...there's a great darkness inside of it. A brilliant light...and an everlasting darkness. Hope...and despair. You struggle to keep a perfect balance, don't you...but one day, it'll break free. Just beneath the surface, buried under all that goodness. Fully conscious, fully aware, but trapped. Unable to move or speak, powerless to act on your desires. So thirsty, so helpless. It must be agony." She immediately slipped back to her normal behaviour. "...oh...What was I doing?"

Tsuruko looked at her in a skeptical manner. "...Huh."

"Also, the Light of Disaster...it's tied to the Unending Holy Shining Demon, Elysdeon. I have one of the Two Heavenly Demons sealed inside me...but yet, it's dormant. There's no harm in it. Supposedly, it keeps me alive...But now, the Magic Council is trying to cause the same disaster again...What can I do?" Hikari sighed. "I miss Mother..."

Tsuruko rested her head upon Hikari's forehead, giving her an affectionate headbutt. "Smile, Hikari. No matter what happens, just smile!"

All seemed well, until...

Robots dropped down in front of them. "Agh, just my luck!" Tsuruko grumbled; as she motioned to Hikari to stand back. "This ends now!" Rushing towards the robots, Tsuruko kicked forward, taking the one in the middle down, while avoiding gunshots from the other robots with a backflip. Spinning around, Tsuruko unleashed a powerful hurricane kick which obliterated the rest of the inorganic enemies. Flipping backwards, Tsuruko landed on her feet, ending the conflict in the span of a single moment.

"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!" A scream could be heard; as Tsuruko swiftly turned around, to notice an all too familiar figure. It was the woman from the store...Only this time, her features were more apparent.

She wore an ornate black-and-gold outfit which was somewhat Egyptian in appearance, resembling that of Egyptian pharaohs and gods, the faceplate in particular, and consisted of a menacing mask covering all but the lower jaw bearing a red gem on the forehead, a chestplate, black leggings, gold adornments on the arms and legs with black clothing between, and boots with rounded gold toes. She sported gold and black bands on her hair and massive gold claws on the backs of her hands; she also wore a large cape which had a black with red interior. Additionally, she featured robotic elements: there were cables running to her arms and within her hair, and her right eye appeared to be mechanical, surrounded by an Eye of Horus-like design in red.

"Who are you!?" Tsuruko called out to her, as Dragredder manifested in her hands.

"I'm afraid our little game ends now." The woman snarled, as she clutched Hikari tightly within her clawed hand.

Tsuruko pointed her gunblade towards the enigmatic figure, declaring angrily, "I don't think so! It's showtime!"

Black Knight
The woman facing Tsuruko continued to hover within the air, boasting, "Have you ever heard of the painting, The Lady and the Unicorn? It's the modern title given to a series of six tapestries woven in Flanders of wool and silk, from designs drawn in the late fifteenth century. The tapestry's meaning is obscure, but has been interpreted as representing love or understanding. The conflict both the Magic Council and the Independent Guilds show that one is just as bad the other. They lack love...however, the tapestries? They depict a noble lady with the unicorn on her left and a lion on her right. In this eternal struggle...I am the lion, representing blackness, trying to obtain this girl, the lady." She finished,

"On the other hand, you, who are caught in the middle of this war, are as white as a unicorn. Pure and uncorrupted by the world. May I ask you, will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib? Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? Or will he harrow the valleys after thee? Wilt thou trust him, because his strength is great? Or wilt thou leave thy labour to him? Wilt thou believe him, that he will bring home thy seed, and gather it into thy barn?"

Tsuruko snapped, "Shut up! Stop trying to psyche me out!"

The woman chuckled. Oh, you don't understand much, do you? This girl...she's in possession of the key to Laplace's Box."

"...Huh?"

"This thing called Laplace’s Box has the ability to overturn the world—shake the Magic Council to its core and radically alter the status quo—it could be some scandal in the current administration, or an ultimate weapon that could bring about an overwhelming military victory. It can either destroy the Magic Council, or grant it an unending rule over Earth Land. The Light of Disaster slowly reveals the path to open Laplace's Box once certain requirements are met. By using her, absolute power will be mine..." The woman cackled.

"...What do you mean!?" Tsuruko was at a rage-breaking point.

"Once the Light of Disaster reveals the way to Laplace's Box, I will secure the box, and open it. By then...my soul will be fully revived. I shall have my true power; by joining with the me in the future; that soulless shell of a creature. The merging, will allow me to unleash my full might in the present, bringing ruin to all!" The woman's laughing intensified.

Tsuruko sighed. "...Ah, I wish you'd shove it. You know where. Now, give Hikari back, or pay the price!" She once more entered a fighting stance. "Now, it's showtime!"

The cloaked woman in black merely cackled. "...Ahahahahaha! Let me show you how powerless you really are!" A black orb concentrated within her hand; magical energy focused at a singular point—the woman's hand. It continued to converge until it reached its utmost limit. This attack was nothing short of that which had cut apart what had been without shape into Heaven and Earth. And now, the arm of the evil god haughtily blowing up storm winds, would once again reduce the world to ash.

"RUBELLU SIRIUS GUNGNIR!" An enormous collection of magical energy was released from the evil god's hand, grinding at the laws of space. It took the form of an unfathomable amount of crimson spears that weren't aimed at anyone in the first place. It was no longer a matter of aiming at anyone. What Rubellu Sirius Gungnir attacked could not be contained to simply Tsuruko. Tsuruko saw before her eyes the fracturing of the earth, and the opening of an abyss as this world was quickly coming to an end. There was no defense; it happened all too fast for her to properly defend.

BLAM!

Tsuruko was effortlessly blown back; as she lost all of her strength and crumbled down in front of the woman onto the grass. Tsuruko couldn't get a hold on her general balance, and she couldn't even use her magical energy in order to stand to her own two feet. She couldn't even count how many fingers she had in her outstretched hand even while following it with her eyes. Far from able to clench her fist and snap it at the woman, because in the first place she could not even control her own body weight and center of gravity, standing up was flat out difficult. With her cheeks on the grass and dirt-entwined purple hair, Tsuruko was feeling this discomfort, "…Agh…What the heck do I do!?" Even if she could passively understand what was occurring, she couldn't actively show a response.

A voice poured over from above Tsuruko's head in such state. "Is sleep finally coming to you swimmingly? It's the least of your many problems." It was the woman's. She couldn't understand what was being said at all. What did she want to do here in the first place? Even as she asked it herself, she couldn't answer. Surely Hikari should be here. She was sure she should be escaping with her from here.

Even as she fully used her strongest power, the woman would see through it first, and in a puff of smoke, would instantly strike back with a severe counter after she had restrained Tsuruko's power. In contrast to the woman, who would dance around her world-destroying blows as if they were dirt, Tsuruko could barely stand up. With this, deriving the prospects of winning was too harsh. However… "——?" At that moment, the mouth of the woman that spewed out insults ceased. In her expression full of insults, some bewilderment was clearly visible. Tsuruko again attempted to stand up, clinging onto the grass. It was simply not a fighting condition.

"Pathetic." Darkness charged into the woman's hands, preparing a final blow. "Darkness Wrecker!" She declared; unleashing a powerful torrent of darkness towards her; it was filled with killing intent, and if it did indeed strike it, it was more than possible that it could kill her in a single strike. She closed her eyes in fright, waiting for that blow to claim her life...

...But that blow did not come. Suddenly, the young woman awoke; a mysterious figure had deflected the shockwave through a simple punch. That person…Their back was to her, so she couldn't see their face, but something about them was…familiar for her. "Ah, ahh…!" Her tears began to fall…She didn't know why. Or maybe…she didn't care…

"Not this time." A familiar voice rang out; Tsuruko opened her eyes—witnessing the impossible in front of her. This figure was majestic; clothed in white robes which have golden linings; covering their upper body in a glowing mantle that draped their shoulders. Their attire otherwise consisted of a white trenchcoat, white baggy pants, as well as white, pointed, elf-esque boots. They wore black gloves, and their face was concealed by a draconic-looking orange mask, which was covered by a hood. This was...the person who saved her that time; the person who restored her hope, and gave her a reason to live.

The mysterious Being Who Is One With The Skies...the Phoenix Knight.

"Yatte yaruze."

The woman looked on at the Phoenix Knight, shouting, "So, you've finally shown yourself!?"

"Vanish."

The time was ripe. Pouring all the strength in their body into the two arms grasping the hilt of their blade tightly, the Phoenix Knight lifted the golden sword up high. Light gathered. As if illuminating this holy sword was its ultimate duty, the light condensed further, merging into a blinding brilliance. At the fierceness and purity of this beam of light, no one could speak a single word.

From her back, a pair of golden phoenix wings manifested; this was a sure sign; the gallant image of the legendary hero who once shone the light of purification upon into a battle-ravaged world, a darkness blacker than night. The peerless feats of this hero and this glory were eternal, transcending time.

This shining sword itself was the nostalgic, sorrowful, and exalted dream of the legendary hero; the crystallization of the prayer named 'glory'. Proudly uplifting this will, ascertaining that this faith will be seen to its end, the Phoenix Knight now loudly declared the name of this miracle they held in their hands.

It was – "Shining Onslaught."

Light galloped.

Light roared.

The magical energy, accelerated by the factor of the phoenix, became a streak of light in the very form of a gigantic phoenix, a swirling and surging torrent that devoured the woman together with the skies. A silent scream rose within the streets evaporating in an instant, as every single atom composing the body of the demon that had been the embodiment of terror were exposed to the scorching impact.

As the dust settled; the woman quickly regenerated. "...I do believe that it's time to fold 'em." As she rose into the air with Hikari in the air, Hikari reached into her pocket.

Quickly, Hikari withdrew a blue gem which seemed to house a brilliant light inside of it, before tossing it downward. "Tsuruko, take this!"

Managing to muster up enough strength to raise her arm, Tsuruko caught the gem as it fell; looking at it weakly. "I've got it! Now, don't worry, I'll rescue you!"

The Phoenix Knight snarled at the woman, "Black Knight, that was a warning blast. Next time, you won't be so lucky."

Hikari nodded, as the Black Knight pointed at Tsuruko and the Phoenix Knight. "It's only a matter of time before it's mine. Until then, you can hold onto it for me!" In a flash, the Black Knight disappeared, with Hikari in tow.

Tsuruko once more slumped, punching the ground in a rage. "...Darn it! I couldn't even save a little girl...!"

The Phoenix Knight picked her up, giving her a map. "Look at this, Tsuruko Sejren. With your current power, you will never be able to save the Light of Disaster. However...the future can be altered. Even after being taught the Power of the Aura, your strength falls flat. Even so, you must march onwards, to prevent the Ragnarok Catalyst. The way to get stronger...Tsuruko Sejren, head to La Pucelle Academy. Your answers should be there."

"...A school?" Tsuruko was in disbelief.

"I guess you could say it's not exactly your typical school." The Phoenix Knight forced back a chuckle as they left with Tsuruko with the words, "You did well to survive and not lose hope! Take care of yourself for when the time comes, Tsuruko Sejren." In a puff of golden energy, the enigmatic Phoenix Knight disappeared, just as they had arrived.

Tsuruko gazed into the sky, as her look of absolute pain turned into an expression of hope. "Next stop, La Pucelle Academy!"