This article Kirika Hotsuin, is the sole property of Per and as such, no user may edit this article without explicit permission from the aforementioned creator. If you wish to use this article in any way, please ask me first.
The Silver Soul Armour Knight
Name
Kirika Hotsuin
Kanji
キリカ・ホツイン
Romanji
Kirika Hotsuin
Alias
Golden Wizard (金の魔法使い, Kin no Mahōtsukai) The Silver Soul Armour Knight (白銀の神鎧纏最高戦士 (ソウル・アーマー・ナイト), Shirogane no Sōru Āmā Naito)
Kirika Hotsuin (キリカ・ホツイン, Kirika Hotsuin) is a wandering young woman whom is known to be a complete enigma while having a lust for power. Aside from her being the Qualified of Airgetlam, one of the seven Prototype Soul Armours having a thirst for strength, nothing else is known about her, at least initially. While she is referred to as the Queen of the Zodiac Knights; she does not have a Hellion infused within her, being mostly normal aside from a connection to the Origin Demon known as Planet-Eating Beast Varian (星食獣・バリアン,Seikuijū Barian); as she is simply a freelance mercenary hired by Joker to serve as. Kirika is the main antagonist in Daybreak S1; and Tsuruko Sejren's main rival throughout the series.
Growing up poor, Kirika always believed that the weak warriors are exploited after the Magic Council took everything from her life. Seeing that modern society is a rotten system where the weak are persecuted by the strong, Kirika works tirelessly to improve herself so that she can survive in such a world. She has a very powerful and disciplined work ethic, and tries to pass that along to others. An extremely dangerous individual, Kirika will betray almost anyone to achieve her goal of gaining the Philosopher's Stone, to have her wish of people remembering her and not just forgetting the injustices her family suffered, becoming more than a "mere bad dream". Even though she holds power over all forms of morality, Kirika has a more altruistic side that she only shows when a bigger threat comes along, as well as a kinder heart underneath her rough exterior.
When she scans the Change Ring over the GingaOh Driver, Kirika is able to invoke the power of the Origin Demon, Varian sealed within her belt to become the Super Galaxy King (超銀河王, Chō Ginga Ō). After freeing herself from Varian's influence by absorbing his power and destroying the rest, Kirika is capable of transforming into the true form of the Super Galaxy King, known as Soul Armour Knight Airgetlam (神鎧纏最高戦士 (ソウル・アーマー・ナイト) ・破婁 (アガートラーム), Sōru Āmā Naito Agātorāmu lit. God Armour Clad Supreme Warrior Tearing Bond).
Kirika has the appearance of a young woman in her mid-twenties—she appears strikingly similar to Giselle Mercury; something that Tsuruko makes fun of, stating to Giselle that "she [Kirika's] crazy enough to make herself look exactly like you"; something that Giselle considers an actual possibility; however, the connection is something far more complex- or rather, a red herring. Kirika has pale-fair skin and red blushy cheeks. Her eyes look to be a powerful purple while her hair appears to be a pale-silver colour. She is taller than Giselle, but her exact height is unknown. From what can be seen, she seems to a perfect figure, and her breasts are maybe a D-Cup. Her white hair loosely flows outward and seems to be about waist length. She has cold, unmoving eyes, she never breathes nor does her hair move, and her arms and legs are full of holes which are masked by her gloves and boots, something which vanishes once she absorbs Varian.
Normally, Kirika's outfit is fitting for a melee character such as herself. It consists of a red and black strapless sports bra, and torn blue gi pants that has a red flame design on the bottom of the left leg. They are tied to her waist with a red and black martial arts belt. Her pants are ripped to where the right leg is only covered mid thigh and there are several tears that show the orange inside with one on her right leg revealing her blue and white striped panties. She doesn't wear shoes. Kirika also wears black fingerless gloves with red cestus gloves with six silver spikes on each hand. As an accessory she wears a silver dragon charm in all-caps attached to two chains as a necklace.
Personality
Kirika is the polar opposite of Tsuruko in almost every respect. Though she has a thirst for learning, a theatrical demeanour, and determination to get what she wants, just like Tsuruko, she is much, much different. Whereas Tsuruko wanted to be a superhero that fought villains from her childhood, just like Phoenix Knight, Kirika wanted to be a villain who defeated superheroes. While Tsuruko is somebody whose insane power comes naturally, Kirika had to work extremely hard to get her strength.
Kirika believes firmly in the doctrine of "the survival of the fittest" in that the weak are nothing but prey for the strong; however, she views herself not as one of the strong, but actually as one of the weak; she believes that it's imperative for the weak to obtain power to prevent themselves from being preyed upon and abused. This attitude was born when the Magic Council shut down her father's company, Collbrande Techniques, as part of their efforts to gain control over Hargeon, leading Kirika to gain a rather significant grudge against them and everyone associated with them, desiring the power to get back at them. Interestingly, despite the council's less then savoury actions overall, Kirika is apathetic to such things as the persecution of those who aren't united underneath them- all she wants is revenge against the government for ruining her life and indirectly killing her parents.
Though Kirika has a burning hate for cruelty and those who abuse their power, she also believes that compassion holds people back from obtaining the strength necessary to protect themselves; essentially dooming oneself no matter what stance a person takes and creating a never ending cycle of wrath and violence. Normally, Kirika acts kind and affable; certainly a person you'd love to sit back and have a cup of coffee with; however, this is only a front to her true personality—deceiving people into believing that she is a kind person; though she is actually quite kind, which is shown more when she mellows out thanks to Deen Lhant's influence. Even before this, when the chips are down, while Kirika may make a big show of being a cold-blooded supervillain with a Darwinian philosophy, she either fails to follow through on it or conveniently reinterprets her philosophy so that it'll allow her to do the right thing. Digging further, however, shows that Kirika possesses some degree of innocence that her psychotic behaviour has not entirely ruined; she has a soft spot for children—in fact, this is the closest to a humanizing emotion that she has. She also appears to have some desire for a normal life, a chance at redemption, as even though she had changed sides, she did not change her attitude towards others, but Deen Lhant's words did manage to strike a chord within her.
Though she relishes the prospect of combat, most of the time, Kirika purposely invokes fear, cranking up the rumours the Magic Council has spread about her –namely, being a sadistic felon with a love to maim and destroy anything in her random fits of rage- in order to gain a reputation as the most powerful and feared criminal to ever live so that no one would dare be foolish enough to challenge her, showing a ruthless and merciless edge in combat that most other characters in Daybreak lack; indeed, her ruthlessness and aggression leads to fear and a nervousness that inhibits characters from her unshakable intent or sheer power in combat. However, in the heat of battle, Kirika always uses exactly the right amount of force she needs to in order to achieve victory: no more and no less. This is due to the belief that if she underestimated her enemies, it could give them an opening they could exploit, and if she overestimates them, she tends to get bored in a fight.
Despite her words, the narration mentions several times that Kirika has never killed anyone who didn't deserve it (her targets are usually unsavoury people such as human traffickers and terrorists) and goes out of her way to incapacitate targets that are of 'good values'. There is some sort of twisted justice behind her methods, as she only kills those she sees as 'evil'; as shown during her own arc, where she pretends to be infatuated with Kira Hase, a young man from the Dark Guild Hell Seekers so that she could slaughter the whole guild for their crimes against the innocent. Kirika also has an arrogant streak a mile wide; however, while she looks down on the weak, she never boasts about her own power, and more than anything she believes that it's human nature to seek power. Kirika also has a special dislike for cheating and dirty tricks, as she likes to win fair and square, knowing the risks of non-controlled attacks with large areas-of-effect and how it could endanger onlookers. Kirika often goes out of her way to make fights and duels to be as honourable as possible so people can show their true strength; this is why she usually waits for her opponents to power up or transform before they attack. This is one of the reasons that she opposes Amadam's Empire in S2; they want to wipe out six billion humans to save the human race while she wants the Hellion Invasion to occur unopposed so each individual human can show their own strength and worth.
Deep down, Kirika secretly possesses jealousy towards Tsuruko; her attitude towards Tsuruko was hinted at during her own arc, when it is shown that she both idolizes and is slightly jealous of Tsuruko's heroic personality, and is outright shown when she and Tsuruko fight for the final time during the last arc of S1. Thanks to their pasts, Tsuruko and Kirika are very similar, but their methods are like opposite sides of a coin; Tsuruko is able to protect her loved ones without killing and is able to stand by their side, while Kirika protects the only person she considers really close to her through violent methods and even admits that she is unable to stand by their side. Kirika does care deeply for those she sees as 'worthy', such as what happened when Leanne Rockwell's weapon struck a roof and had Deen's arm broken; rather than fighting on like she expectedly would, Kirika immediately goes to Deen to protect him instead of finishing Leanne off.
Kirika's own love of battle is both her greatest strength and weakness: she interprets every challenge as an enemy to be defeated, and always has to be focusing her energy on achieving something. Case in point: during the early stages of Daybreak S3, with nothing to do, even though Kirika has few applicable or even social skills other than fighting and has been consequently fired from several jobs in one day, she puts all of her energy into becoming a professional chef, though the end result could be considered "giftedly bad" at best. Kirika is always prepared to do anything that has impressed her and she will almost never hesitate to do it, as long as it grants her more power; an example of this is seeking out Origin to absorb its power just as she did for Varian; and she will participate in any competition as long as it will allow her to become stronger, even if it is completely ridiculous. The reason for this is that at times, she can be a bit worried when not fully prepared. Unfortunately, this trait of her means that after Kirika has defeated all of her enemies, with no villains left to exert her power against, she revives her rivalry with Tsuruko one last time, challenging the latter to one final battle at the very end of the Daybreak era.
Kirika's problems with parental figures and such is a rather unique one; because of her own past, she is normally wary about them, believing that people who guide others are control freaks, and being a 'sheep' is the opposite of true strength. However, although she abhors her father's greediness after the Magic Council bought Collbrande Techniques, resulting in the lives of her family being ruined and her father's downfall into a alcoholic abuser, she still remembers her father's former kindness prior to the Council's arrival and her mother's kindness. Whenever she witnesses something that reminds her of her own family issues, like what Kaguya's older brother did to her; as his greediness resulted in him nearly killing her to take over the family fortune, Kirika, for a lack of a better term, flipped her shit decided to teach the abuser and the victim a lesson, starting with saving the victim from the abuser first by murdering him, and teaching the weak victim how to stand up and strong against the abuser.
Indeed, Deen's kindness towards her has proven to be beneficial to both her and everyone around her—as indeed, they are no longer in constant danger; a major sign of her kindness is shown when she saves Deen multiple times. Deep down, she is someone that aches for the light, as shown when Deen was able to walk up to her and slowly take a gun from her hands before she tried to finish off Alexis after their second bout. Amusingly, she seems to really enjoy teasing Deen—and openly acts lovey-dovey with him, something that embarrasses him. She has a habit of clapping when talking to others, often for no apparent reason which only further signifies her insanity. Kirika has a few unusual tendencies and quirks, however, such as turning away from the people she speaks to, or over-dramatizing her hand gestures when delivering a speech, even flexing her fingers in an unusual manner, as if itching to grab something.
History
Kirika Hotsuin was the daughter of a construction worker in Hargeon back when the town was slowly advancing; her father was the one was working under his mysterious CEO, the head of Collbrande Techniques on the Bifrost Bridge (ビフレスト・ブリッジ, Bifuresuto Burijji), a bridge that would connect the technologically advanced Hargeon to Four. The people of Four lived in poverty and worked for the richer Hargeon; they weren't allowed to cross into the city. The CEO of the company, definitely not the biggest fan of racism or classism, decided to connect the two, hoping to bring the two people closer. People thought he was crazy at first, but after seeing his progress and determination, they began to help him as they hoped for a better future in the city; Kirika's father was one of these people, as he had married into his wife's family, taking upon her last name- he was originally a migrant from Four.
Some people frowned at the idea and forced construction to halt. The CEO became wanted by the Magic Council, and the helpers gave up, figuring it would be hopeless once the man was captured. Eventually, the CEO was cornered by the Magic Council; though he intended to talk it over with them, the Council wouldn't have any of that- though the man could effortlessly bring them down, due a dislike of violence, and not willing to be caught and spend the rest of his life in jail, the man ran along the bridge and flew off to the other side of the sea. After this, businessmen from the Magic Council came and bought Collbrande Techniques for a large sum of money, monopolizing their technology while laying off every worker there- Kirika and her family became poor.
After the council took over Hargeon, now on the streets, Kirika's father became a drunkard after he got duped for his money by people who got close to him, pretending to be nice to him, and grew violent against his own family, turning his wrath against his wife and child. In the end, Kirika's parents committed suicide, with her father hanging himself and her mother poisoning herself- Kirika's anger towards people who abuse their power began to manifest after this; however, she was placed in an orphanage which was located near the small shack that was home to one of the Four Heavenly Kings, Laura Bryant, who Kirika had only seen once or twice—however, her desire to destroy the council burnt bright; she sought the power to destroy the government.
Sometime after, Kirika was found by an old friend of her mother's –an influential author-, offering to take her in and look after her as her own. However, Kirika, disgusted with anyone who took pity on her, angrily declined, though she did thank her for the offer, albeit begrudgingly. Even so, the old woman gave her enough money to get an education, hoping that she would make something of herself. This was actually the reason why she was able to find the strength to continue on in life. When she was fifteen, she bumped into a seven year old Tsuruko Sejren, who was in Hargeon on an orphanage excursion- Kirika found Tsuruko weak for apologizing to her instead of fighting her. Soon after, Kirika found the GingaOh Driver while she was fishing, the belt wrapping around her as Varian began to speak to her, offering her the power to get revenge on those who wronged her.
Soon after, the old woman who helped her came under fire from the legal guilds around Hargeon for her anti-magician books, with several guilds beginning to cause a ruckus, breaking her property and making it harder and harder for her to get some rest. Kirika, naturally, took offense to this. Transforming into the Super Galaxy King for the first time, she slaughtered the alliance in a matter of minutes as a rather twisted "thank you" for her help. While grateful (yet still uncomfortable about all the murder that had occurred), the council began selling her land (and later, her house), and would charge ridiculous sums of money for her to buy it back. It was at that moment that Kirika decided to work as a freelance mercenary, sending money back to her friend in order to allow her to keep her home. At the same time, she wanted to make an impact on the world so that nobody would forget the hardships she had endured, becoming more than a "mere dream".
Synopsis
Equipment
Kirika using Stormbringer to kill an opponent.
CT-EDA-HF Blade (ＣＴ (コールブランド・テクニクス) ・ＥＤＡ (実験破守) ・ＨＦ (高周波) ・ブレード, Kōruburando Tekunikusu Jikken Hashu Kōshūha Burēdo lit. Collbrande Techniques Experimental Defense Annihilator High-Frequency Blade): The CT-EDA-HF Blade, more often than not simply referred to as a High-Frequency Blade (高周波刃, Kōshūhajin) is a powerful yet difficult to use weapon developed by Collbrande Techniques. A High-Frequency Blade is a sword reinforced by a powerful alternating current and resonates at extremely high frequencies, granting it absurd cutting power. Generally, a High-Frequency Blade is extremely difficult to use, with accidents being all-too-common- as such, High-Frequency Blades are treated as a joke by the general populace, though, competent High-Frequency Blade wielders are known as grandmaster sword fighters, using the weapon with such accuracy and speed that they are able to deflect bullets. The High-Frequency Blade is part of Collbrande Techniques' AEC-Armament program; the goal of which is to develop weaponry and equipment that can get around magical powers, in a sense destabilizing the magical world and causing people to turn to them and fork out their money for these incredible pieces of equipment. In any case, the High-Frequency Blade is a sword that varies in appearance from model to model, with some being western in appearance, some being eastern, and others being rather bizarre in terms of design. Although High-Frequency Blades are normally metallic in nature, not all are, as some High-Frequency Blades can also be made entirely of other material, such as mahogany, so long as it is naturally conductible for the process. As the name would ever-so-subtly indicate, the High-Frequency Blade is a sword reinforced by a powerful alternating current and resonates at extremely high frequencies thanks to being superheated from friction induced by the user channeling their magical power into the Lacrima within the hilt, creating an extremely sharp blade that sears and slices through anything that it comes into contact with. The oscillation of the High-Frequency Blade weakens the molecular bonds of anything it cuts, thereby increasing its cutting ability; indeed, it is said that there is nothing that the weapon cannot cut though, as it slices through physical defenses like a hot knife through butter; additionally, every high-frequency blade is treated with anti-magic coating as they are often used to slice through magic-based attacks. As with any other normal sword, striking, cutting, and thrusting attacks are performed with the blade, with the sharpened edge and point used for lethal attacks, and the blunt edge is capable of being used as a clubbing weapon. While normally, one would think that being extraordinarily sharp would mean that a High-Frequency Blade is extremely brittle, the weapons are known for their exceptional durability, as Kirika Hotsuin was shown being able to parry a chainsaw with no visible damage to her Stormbringer High-Frequency Blade, as well as being able to block a dragon's claw strike. Adding onto this, the High-Frequency Blades, due to their sharpness, appear to have some quality that allows them to cut things that are longer than the length of the blade; as Leanne Rockwell can cut a Guardian Fiend demon that spanned the size of a city in half, lengthwise. Additionally, even though the user fuels the alternating current with their magical power, unlike a magical weapon, it doesn't deplete the user's magic pool. The High-Frequency Blade folds up like a switchblade for storage; and the user can just store it in a backpack or case when not in use. The Manifestation Demolition Blade: Stormbringer (示現崩剣・ストームブリンガー, Jigenhōken Sutōmuburingā) is the name of Kirika's specialized High-Frequency Blade, acting as an exceptionally versatile sword which is reinforced by a powerful alternating current and resonates at extremely high frequencies, creating an extremely sharp blade. The Stormbringer takes the form of a single-sided chokutō with a laser edge built in to only enhance the power of the high-frequency blade—the sword itself is easily recognizable due to its length as a Japanese nodachi blade. The colour of the tsuba (guard) and tsuka (hilt) are blue and gold and entirely black respectively; it is around approximately six-to-eight feet long, being a fair bit longer than Kirika herself is tall. It sports a bolted steel base and blade, and there are two holes on the blade near the hilt. It has been specially customized with a motorcycle-like gear shift which, when pulled, sprays a flammable propellant across the blade and opponent, greatly increasing the power of its blows; it can be revved up to three times, and can be released either in one incredibly powerful strike, or as three lesser, but still strong, blows; increasing the range and inflicted damage of its attacks. For certain techniques this changes their performance entirely. Because enhanced attacks inflict more damage, this is one of Kirika's most valuable assets in a battle. This system is also strong enough for Kirika to be able to use it as a jet; this allows the Engine Blade to have three different elemental abilities imbued in it, each based on a different type of engine: Jet (ジェット Jetto), allows Stormbringer to fire jet blades or a blade energy wave; Electric (エレクトリック Erekutorikku) allows Stormbringer to do high powered electric slashes, and Steam (スチーム Suchīmu) creates a wave or wall of steam. This and several other modifications makes Stormbringer nearly impossible for anyone but Kirika to wield.
Sheath-Gun of Stormbringer (ストームブリンガーの鞘銃, Sutōmuburingā no Sayajū): The sheath of the Stormbringer blade is in the form of a powerful-looking rifle; the rifle's lock and barrel is gray while the stock is a dark red. The stock itself is rather longer when compared to the barrel and lock. As the sword covers and blocks the barrel of the rifle, it is unable to fire normally unless the sword has been unsheathed. Although it is small and light weight, the rifle component is capable of fully automatic fire. The sheathe of Stormbringer has the slightly more mundane use of making its cutting force even higher at the press of a button due to pressurized air in the sheathe. When using the rifle as the sheathe, it can launch from its "sheathe" at the press of a trigger, making her strikes ten times more deadly, and can also be linked to its sheathe via chain so it can swing through enemies and come back to Kirika.
Sawed-Off Shotgun (寸詰まりの散弾銃, Sundzumari no Sandanjū): This unnamed weapon is a type of shotgun with a shorter gun barrel, with an absent stock, designed to be easy to conceal. The Sawed-Off Shotgun was obtained by Kirika from a black market; Compared to a standard shotgun, the sawed-off shotgun has a shorter effective range, due to a lower muzzle velocity and wider spread of shot. Its reduced size makes it easier to maneuver and conceal. Powerful and compact, the weapon is especially suitable for use in small spaces. It has a tube magazine attached to the underside of the barrel which limits the minimum barrel length to slightly longer than the length of the magazine tube, when only the barrel is modified. Shortening the length of a shotgun barrel does not significantly affect the pattern or spread of the pellets until it is decreased to under 50% of a typical barrel length. The pattern is primarily affected by the type of cartridge fired and the choke, or constriction normally found at the muzzle of a shotgun barrel. Cutting off the end of the barrel removes the choke, which generally only extends about two inches (about 5 cm) inward from the muzzle. This results in a cylinder bore, which causes the widest spread generally found in shotgun barrels. For an even wider pattern, special "spreader chokes" or "spreader loads" can be used, that are designed to spread the shot farther. It can fire twin lasers from its barrels, can have a small grappling hook attached to it and also comes with a knock-out gas feature. Presumably, the gun is powered by some sort of nuclear fusion reaction; and later on, Kirika links the gun up to a miniaturized black hole in order to augment the output of the cannon, increasing its power astronomically. The cannon is presumably telescopic, as she keeps it stored retracted in her left arm when not in use. Its powerful blast is enough to knock Amadam back three city blocks (although there was a building in the way) and requires Kirika to use both of her arms to steady the aim; as without balance, it could knock Kirika herself backwards a slight distance due to recoil.
GingaOh Driver (ギンガオー・ドライバー, Gingaō Doraibā): The GingaOh Driver is a special Driver Belt that was created as one of the Prototype Driver Belts—while the Planet-Eating Beast Varian's power was world-shattering, it was not destined for habitat in this plane of existence, and thus, it, along with it's twin, Origin, sealed themselves away—Varian itself was absorbed into the GingaOh Driver as of the Universal Reboot, resurfacing in Hargeon. took the form of a peculiar Driver Belt. The GingaOh Driver enables the user to harness the power of Planet-Eating Beast Varian, which has been converted into the form of the belt in order to fuel their transformation into a Soul Armour Knight; however, thanks to Varian's influence, the Soul Armour was corrupted and Kirika could only use its Proto form at first.The GingaOh Driver takes the form of a silver and black belt which has a triad of purple crystals engraved upon the buckle. It also stores the genetic structure and memories of its host, so that if the host is injured or killed, it regenerates that host from even the smallest bits of genetic material, even regenerating scars made by past wounds. During the joining with the GingaOh Driver, Kirika's body was changed permanently. The GingaOh Driver left two growths on the back of her that acted as a form of catalyst for the Drive Lever while also being able to sense other users of the Driver Belts nearby. The GingaOh Driver is known to be infused with pure darkness—and eventually, it would eat away the mind of the wearer; however, Kirika is capable of withstanding its negative side-effects, as her unstable psyche actively encourages the addicting power of the GingaOh Driver and turns it back on Varian to further amplify the power received by using the GingaOh Driver; essentially, Kirika is so determined that there is nothing for Varian to devour—this makes her a one of a kind demonic host. However, during the Silver Flash arc, Kirika's sheer willpower overpowers Varian with the power of her Blazing Heart, absorbing the Planet-Eating Beast's power while shattering its existence, essentially killing the Origin Demon- this act allows Kirika to awaken the GingaOh Driver Soul Armour's true form, the silver knight Airgetlam. Like other Prototype Driver Belts, Kirika is capable of transforming and activating her Soul Armour's secret powers without the need for Super Soul Rings.
Powers and Abilities
""How is it that you can stand up to the power of the true Dragon King so easily!?" "Really wanna know? I eat, watch action movies, and sleep! I don't need nothing else!""
— Black Dragon Nidhoggr and Kirika Hotsuin, on the source of the latter's power, Daybreak S2, Darkened Abyss
Physical Skills
Ways of Combat
Kirika's battle prowess against Rea Safaia in Daybreak S3.
Master Swordsmanship Specialist: A master of the sword, Kirika's fighting style is known as Anything Goes Kiri-Style (無差別格闘錐流, Musabetsu Kakutō Kiri-ryū), a "style" that she made up upon the fly; indeed, her way of swordfighting is completely self-taught, and borrows moves from several others she is in association with. She attacks very quickly, leaping through the air to strike enemies with her long sword, carving a trail of destruction through the area. She is even capable of employing her sword effectively using her feet, by wielding her hilt between her hallux and second toe. Her swordsmanship is enough for her to slash through intangible airspaces, and to deflect hundreds of bullets which were shot at her by a Rune Knight with relative ease. In addition, her sword slashes possess so much force behind them that they are able to slice through metal using only the air pressure from the swings. Kirika has an incredibly aggressive style: she is constantly on the offensive, and eschews any defensive moves in favor of speed and strength, striking heavy and hard while lightning fast. She prefers an off-hands style that is best suited for her own tastes, relying on a combination of power, strength, and speed, always on the offensive, attacking with wide, fast, and powerful swings, performing amazing feats of acrobatics, such as somersaults and backflips, not only for attack, but also to evade the slashes and strikes of her opponents. Running, jumping, and spinning are all emphasized in her style, allowing Kirika to move at high speeds and rain strong blows, jumping and attacking through the air. Powerful and quick spinning attacks are utilized from all angles, either from ground or air, appearing like a blur to her opponents, attacking from all directions—the front, the sides, overhead, or behind. However, Kirika's fighting style is highly demanding in terms of both physical and kinetic energy expended, this is because of its broad focus and deeper utilization within her blows. The Anything Goes Kiri-Stylehas abundant amounts of paradoxical and unpredictable concepts that would make the fighting style difficult to use for anyone else—but this is why Kirika likes it so much (that, and she made it up). Anything Goes Kiri-Style is described as more than a mere swordsmanship style—it requires Kirika to enjoy the fight, desiring the satisfaction of victory above all else. By accepting the anger of the opponent, Kirika morphs them into half of a superconducting loop, with the other half being realized as the anger and hate that dwells within the opponent. In order to use Anything Goes Kiri-Style, Kirika must emit a constant stream of fighting spirit from her body, with a hardly contained detonation of fighting spirit which allows Kirika's attacks to appear nothing but unconnected and seemingly unpolished. The Anything Goes Kiri-Style is Kirika's personalized style of swordfighting, developed in order to enforce the cruel reality of sword fighting—the moment that a sword is able to make successful contact with the body, any sort of skill, training, or prodigal talent that one has is rendered null and void, becoming useless. Essentially, any sort of "sword style" betrays the true nature of sword-fighting, leading to the Anything Goes Kiri-Style to place emphasis on this harsh reality as much as possible.
Kirika's fighting style is focused around swift draws; similar to the art of Iaidō; sword style where Kirika quick draws the blade extremely fast to strike, then re-sheathing it after every attack. Kirika's speed is so fast that she prevents opponents from reciting magical incantations and releasing their powers making it highly effective against mages, however, if one has no need for incantations or have short release commands, then they could hamper Kirika's advantage. Kirika is able to strike so fast that the opponent does not realize they have been cut until she sheathes her weapon; slicing up to ten times in a row in the span of a few moments. It is a style of sword fighting that is free in its movements, sparse, restrained, adapted to brawls and to duels, than to the fields of large scale battles. With this style of swordsmanship, Kirika takes into account and adapts to the opponent's weaponry, contrary to other ways of battle which taught to impose dominance without taking into account the opponent. The Anything Goes Kiri-style takes into account the geography of the terrain, the hour of battle, and other parameters. It is effective against ranged weapons and magical blasts for this reason; being almost undefeated. It is an extremely powerful way of fighting; and as such, is only usable by the most skilled of warriors. Kirika uses her sword not only to defend her position but to also have the "power of adaptability" in facing different individuals, much as a captain must consider the winds and change sails in order to travel in the best direction to reach their objective. It is similar to a hunting hawk, which must constantly reconsider the best trajectory in which to strike effectively. Like the raptor, it is necessary to be able to anticipate, to be able to assess and definitively act. "Move with the mind, in order to move with the body" is one of the central tenets of style. Utilizing sweeping, random movements, upon close inspection, it should be noted that Kirika's style puts unpredictability as her greatest asset. If Kirika's sword does not stop the movement of the enemy, then they try to fit to the opponent's rhythm, thus entering into the mind of the adversary to find their weakness. When utilizing it, Kirika has one goal in mind: kill fast. The incredible level of speed that Kirika is in possession of is what makes the style so effective. Releasing her true speed, a frame of slow motion would show that pieces of skin are ripped off as she darts around, winds scourging Kirika's bare flesh and bone before her infected body repairs itself. The combination of skill and violence that this technique requires makes it almost inherently a technique exclusive to Kirika; a sword style above all others.
Sword Pressure (剣圧, Ken'atsu): Sword Pressure is a basic ability which can be learned by almost everyone and their mother, but it sure is deadly if utilized properly; it is the most basic techniques that one can perform with their sword. When performing the Sword Pressure technique, the user swings forward with their sword, swinging the blade so swiftly that it seems that the user is able to utilize air itself to slice enemies, focusing a current of wind to the point where it takes on a sharp edge, which the user launches at foes; sending it through the air towards the user's enemy. It is a powerful blade of pressure that appears as faint ripples of wind that is launched towards the foe at high speeds; this attack enables the user to assault things which are out of their sword's range, sending slashes which fly through the air itself; and can even remain floating in it until the right moment to slash. The person struck by the sword pressure is assaulted by countless invisible blades which happens so fast that they would normally be unable to properly react in time, carving up their body. Also, the strong wind power will blow away all incoming projectile weapons and will even make the opponent unable to stay on their feet; this technique possesses enough power to slice down many trees in a forest. This technique can deflect both physical and sound wave attacks and attack at the same time, making it both an offensive and defensive technique. These blades of wind possess incredible range and devastating power; and at its highest level of mastery, the sword pressure is capable of cutting through barriers of magical energy; and they can even remain floating within the air until the right minute to slash. Kirika's version of Sword Pressure has heated wind due to the friction caused by her fierce slash. Once it makes contact with the enemy, the now heated wind will proceed to tear into the opponent as well as sear their wounds preventing any rapid regeneration from taking place, beginning to slice the target apart on the molecular level. Kirika has also shown the ability to manipulate the form of the sword pressure, creating a tornado to envelop and lift her opponent, while also cutting them several times; she is skilled and accurate enough to cut away the armour of a Rune Knight without injuring the wearer. Due to her intimacy with her sword's inner workings, Kirika is able to effortlessly change the size and direction of the attack, as well as pour more power into the attack in order to increase the damage it inflicts. Kirika can also separate the attack into several sections and utilize them for multi-directional onslaughts.
Whip Mastery: Due to her Arms Weapon being a snake blade, Kirika is more than skilled in the art of utilizing a whip—or more precisely, a bladed whip. Kirika treats the Crissaegrim like an extension of her own body, making her a versatile fighter because of this, and to effectively wield it is a testament to her skill; as she is capable of bringing out Arms Weapon's full potential in a variety of ways; as she can use its extension ability to attack an opponent from behind, or either the left or right, without giving away the variation of her attack until it is too late. Kirika has shown considerable skill in using the snake blade's extension capabilities to constrict opponents, surrounding them from various angles and then retracting her Arms Weapon in order to crush her adversaries. Due to Kirika's immense strength, best exemplified when swinging the weapon, often one lashing is more than enough for the enemy to fall to Kirika—as she swings the weapon around, enemies will fall ever so effortlessly. When Kirika fights, the terrain around her becomes an extension of her blade; from a single sweep of her Arms Weapon, howling winds surge forward as incredible tornadoes ripping apart the landscape, a simple stab into the earth capable of causing tremendous earthquakes, upturning entire sections as fissures and chasms spread outward. Her fighting style is a force of nature itself turning even the surroundings into a raging maelstrom of death and oblivion.
Vega Slash (銀凰満月斬り, Bega Surasshu lit. Silver Phoenix Full Moon Slash): Vega Slash is Kirika's most prominent finishing attack and one of Airgetlam's Limit Breaks. When performing Vega Slash, Kirika charges her fighting spirit into her Arms Weapon, before attaching her Arms Weapon to the elbow of the gauntlet on her left arm, before instantly dashing forward with surprising burst of speed to meet her targeted enemy with furious speed, utilizing the Wings of Light of her Soul Armour as propulsion. The entire sword emits raging torrents of fighting spirit as the attack is performed, meaning that the attack can also hit anyone directly behind Kirika when she releases the attack. The blow Kirika unleashes is so powerful that it instantly discharges the fighting spirit as to release a god-speed blow of overwhelming, monstrous power that has no equal, as the opponent is overwhelmed by Kirika's fighting spirit from where they were slashed; this is instantly built up and condensed upon their body, creating a supreme cutting force that can slash through any body. This single blow pierces through many an obstruction and tears through the air itself. The attack produced after utilizing this technique is capable of tremendous power, able to destroy even magical barriers and demolish a portion of a house from a distance with the strike; even if Kirika is not in close-range, the fighting spirit is discharged from the blade, releasing a large projection of Varian, formed by fighting spirit, which shoots forward instantly, capable of obliterating anything in it's path from incredible distances with relative ease, enhancing the potential of this technique a hundredfold. This attack is augmented by converting all of her defensive power into a single, maximum-powered attack. The moment that Vega Slash strikes the opponent, the artificial gravity well generates a "custom" shockwave, transforming all particles in contact with its striking surface into Kirika's fighting spirit, essentially granting the slash more than enough sheer destructive power to erase opponents while leaving their souls intact; Kirika's powerful strike causes them to disappear into light; the sheer power of the strike releases fighting spirit capable of destroying anything it comes in contact with. Despite is ridiculous power, Vega Slash has earned the reputation of being one of the most predictable and avoidable Limit Breaks due to its slow startup time and introduction sequence, which gives Kirika's opponents in range the chance to completely dodge the move. However, for this drawback, the sheer power that is granted is more than worth such a risk. Even so, this Limit Break is powerful enough to kill Gemini, a member of the Zodiac Knights in her Symbiote Soul Armour in a single blow.
Vega Slicer (ベガ・スライサー, Bega Suraisā): Vega Slicer is a powerful sword combo exclusive to Kirika; it is a variant of Airgetlam's Vega Slash Limit Break. When performing this attack, Kirika utilizes her Arms Weapon in conjunction with Stormbringer. The first hit is a horizontal swing from left to right with the right sword, immediately followed by an uppercut with the left sword. The user then jumps up and slashes the target with both swords from left to right while spinning, twice; the user lands facing the target and slashes an X from top to bottom, before inversely slashing the X again from bottom to top. The user then leaps at the target and makes two diagonal slashes from the same starting point, with the left sword heading from top to bottom to the left, while the right sword heads from bottom to top toward the right. Afterwards, the user reverses their grip on the two swords and slashes another X with both swords from top to bottom. The user then does a barrel-roll like maneuver while slashing at the target, like a corkscrew. The user then slashes another two X's at the target, first from top to bottom and then bottom to top. The user then makes a diagonal slash with the right sword, top-right to bottom-left, then spins left and uses this momentum to deal a horizontal, right to left slash with the left sword. The user then, at a very high speed, makes an uppercut with the right sword; then another with the left sword, a downward slash with the right sword, then a downward diagonal slash towards the right with the left sword, spins and repeats the previous attack, and thrusts the right-handed sword out. The final slash is a forceful downward lunge with the left sword.
Great Helix Slash Kick (大捩斬脚, Dairazankyaku): The Great Helix Slash Kick is one of Kirika's signature moves; often shown randomly in a fight- however, its power is not really suited to serve as a finishing move, but rather, an attack to clear some space and give Kirika some breathing room. Dairazankyaku is a powerful technique performed with a sword; however, it is noted to be highly unorthodox. When beginning the technique, Kirika, naturally possessing incredible acrobatic prowess, tosses her sword into the air and clutches it with one of her feet; simultaneously, she performs a one-handed handstand; gathering rotational force in the hand she is utilizing to support herself; by an impressive display of breakdancing movements, Kirika whirls around swiftly, holding the leg which is clutching her sword outwards; slashing away at any opponent who is within the reach of the blade. While powerful, it is known to be erratic; more often than not catching her foe off-guard while dealing a multitude of strikes; it is enhanced by the wind generated by the spiral formation that Kirika spins around in; and thus it traps foes in a vicious cyclone of slashes which deals up to thirteen hits while damaging all the foes in the radius of her sword. Dairazankyaku is said to be an upside-down Kaiten Giri (回転斬り, Rotation Cut); an attack where the swordsman stands on one leg and spins around swiftly while holding their blade out, dealing multiple strikes. A bit of trivia, Dairazankyaku is a reference to how Gai wields his blade in the Rising Phoenix series.
Master Hand-to-Hand Combatant: Kirika is a very well known for her hand-to-hand prowess; indeed, she is stated to be an equal to Giselle in that department. Kirika uses the style of Gekiha Renshūken (月気発蓮蹴拳, Moon-Heart Explosive Lotus Kick Fist); Gekiha Renshūken is an elegant fighting style that is only available to fighters that have mastered all other forms of martial arts. This style is considered to be the strongest, most elegant, school of martial arts in existence and relies on fast footwork in order to focus on fending off enemy attacks with the arms and using the legs to counterattack with powerful kicks. The sheer strength of her body, coupled with her superb footwork are positively reinforced by her strength, stamina and footwork, making her one of the deadliest practitioners of hand-to-hand combat around. With this style, her destructive power is without equal and can slaughter enemies with her devastating slicing techniques, focusing on rapid kicks which stab the enemy to death. She uses her instincts to fight as well; attacking savagely and unpredictably in order to overwhelm her opponent. Most of Kirika's combat moves focus on using graceful and delicate movements, similar to ballet moves, to strike precise and hard blows at her opponents. When attacking, she tends to use her feet when launching physical blows. Kirika utilizes many graceful flips, twirls, and cartwheels, mixing in pirouetting kicks, twirls, and one-handed backflips with her hand-to-hand combat, overwhelming an opponent through multi-directional attacks with relative ease. Attacks are aimed at the most vulnerable parts of the body, and training is not limited to techniques that avoid severe injury. With her extensive training in this discipline, Kirika can defend against all variety of attacks and counters in the quickest and most efficient way. Gekiha Renshūken fixates on countering as soon as possible; attacking pre-emptively to gain the upper hand, as well as targeting attacks to the body's most vulnerable points, such as: the eyes, neck/throat, face, solar plexus, groin, ribs, knee, foot, fingers, etc. Overall, Gekiha Renshūken enables Kirika to match Giselle's Seishin Dairinken (星心大輪拳, Star-Mind Large-Ring Fist) blow for blow. Upon using this fighting style, Kirika is able to fight at incredible speeds and is able to react and move in microseconds.
Burai Kick (無頼・キック, Burai Kikku lit. Ruffian Kick): Burai Kick is Kirika's unarmed finishing attack and one of Airgetlam's Limit Breaks. When performing the Burai Kick, Kirika imbues her leg with air pressure, while focusing even more power around her foot; this intensifies the leg, focusing so much power upon her limb that it begins to shine silver. From there, she harnesses her immense speed by kicking off the ground ten times in the blink of an eye –the first kick releases a small shockwave with special properties- in order to leap a good twenty feet or so into the air, before using her speed once more to propel herself downward at an angle at an overwhelming velocity—when in motion, she thrusts her leg forward, her overflowing fighting spirit forming several seals of energy shaped like the Varian emblem- the silver energy still imbued within her right foot as she impacts on the opponent with a diving kick, smashing through them with ease. This attack promises absolute destruction, which is granted by causing friction with the hydrogen in the air by the sheer ferocity of the blow, generating a medium-sized explosion upon impact. The resulting power of the diving kick can crush the target and is particularly dangerous to magic users. It is capable of tearing through diamond and even through weak defenses. Because of the sheer velocity of the move, Kirika's movements seem to cause fire to be released behind her figure during her descent; the impact of her body releasing a powerful shockwave of pure power that is capable of destroying everything in the vicinity for meter away from touch-down. Kirika's motion carves a violent trail of destruction wherever it moves, destroying everything in a straight line as a tornado trails around it as it completely overwhelms all it devours, as by colliding with most structures and opponents, grinding into the opponent like a powerful drill that is capable of piercing through any and every defense; striking them with such incredible power that the sheer force of the attack is enough to upturn steel, and wipe her enemies away with a force akin to an inferno.
Physical Abilities
Kirika's amazing strength displayed against Tsuruko Sejren in Might Makes Right.
Immense Strength: In stark contrast with her slim and womanly figure, Kirika possesses positively enormous amounts of physical strength, having been repeatedly shown capable of lifting and dragging around objects many times her own size and weight, most prominently due to her habit of carrying around a sword as large as she is tall. The fact that she is capable of swinging Stormbringer one-handedly without any strain is a true testament to her titanic strength. In fact, she is so powerful, that she is capable of splitting the hydrogen in the air just by merely punching, allowing her to cause a small explosion that inflicts decent damage. Another feat of strength is that she can punch the ground with enough force to cause small fissures. Kirika is able to lift and press a hundred and twenty metric tons, and she can perform other amazing feats such as punching holes right through thick steel, shatter boulders to smithereens and lift objects many times her own size and weight without a care in the world; a shocking display of fearsome power in itself. Her strength allows Kirika to create thin shockwaves of air that cleanly cut through anything they come in contact with. Kirika also has enough power to break magic with her bare hands, and break through diamond; her inherent immense power is only amplified by the momentum at which she moves; making her strong enough to cut through enemies (though not all shields), burrow through the ground, smash through surfaces by stomping, or break down walls. Furthermore; she shows the ability to pulverize large boulders and the like with a single strike using her finger, while others marvel at the level of strength she possesses. She is able to further manipulate the kinetic energy of her strikes well enough to the point of being capable of accumulating said energy into her fists, thereby greatly enhancing her punches while also allowing her to create extremely powerful bursts of kinetic energy on impact which are capable of sending even Wizard Saint-tier opponents flying. Another testament to Kirika's monstrous brute strength is that she is able to split the hydrogen in the air by punching, strike out with her fists or throw objects through the air with such force that she can make them ignite and punch the ground with enough strength to cause fissures, flaming shockwaves, and even kick up small volcanic eruptions over a wide area; to the point of causing massive explosions around herself; in which it was strong enough to push debris out of her way while causing damage at a much wider range than before. She has demonstrated that she is strong enough to enable her to knock out people with normal durability with as little as a tap to the head. Kirika can press between eight hundred pounds to one ton with her lower body and lift about eight hundred to a thousand pounds in her upper body.
Kirika's intense reflexes, dodging Tsuruko's attacks in their first encounter.
Tremendous Speed: Without using any particular type of movement-enhancing technique, Kirika usually moves at speeds rivaling those of a Wizard Saint, as Kirika has shown to be immensely fast, befitting her small size and waifish build. Her tremendous raw power, allows her to move fast enough to instantly close a huge gap of space between her and the opponent and even seemingly disappear from sight in the span of a millisecond. She can effectively use her agility to use the battlefield to her advantage, jumping from wall to wall to keep her opponents unsure of her attack patterns. Kirika moves at such a speed that her foes more often than not can't register her movements, until she's made them; she's also skilled enough to dodge at tremendous speeds, even if she's assaulted from behind. When launched into the air, she can perform several tricks before finally landing on ground. Kirika's practical reaction time is several times faster than a normal human's and the speed at which her brain processes information is heightened to a level commensurate with her bodily speed, enabling her to perceive her surroundings while traveling at high velocities. She has also shown on several occasions that she can jump incredibly long distances, up to several hundred meters by applying speed to her jumps. She is capable of moving so fast that she can decapitate an entire army of foes without them even having time to react. For speed purposes; Kirika can utilize her sheer willpower to dash and propel herself in large distances through short bursts of energy expenditure, moving at supersonic speeds, even nearing that of hypersonic speeds, so swift that more often than not her opponents are unable to track her movements, merely appearing as a flash of jet-black energy that bursts through the air, and her speed enables her to attack almost a multiple of fifty times in a row per second. Kirika reacts so swiftly to current events in her battles that it seems as if she has a sixth sense of sorts; even being able to react to attacks before they're released; it has been shown time and time again that Kirika's reflexes enhance her speed even further, to the point that it seems as if Kirika has the ability to teleport with every movement that she makes. She is also incredibly precise, as she is able to remove small objects from a person's skull without damaging the person's brain in any way.
Incredible Durability: Kirika is unnaturally resilient as the result of her own training. Her skin itself is unnaturally hard; as she is able to block sword strikes with a single finger without feeling anything, and occasionally she deflects elemental magic up to Dragon Slayer caliber with a single swipe of her hand. Even after suffering a fierce onslaught by the hands of Giselle, Kirika is still able to stand again and again without receiving tremendous physical harm. In addition, she can keep fighting despite suffering broken bones as if she never suffered those injuries in the first place. She is capable of withstanding nearly any and all onslaughts thrown in her direction. Her durability enables her rise from attack after attack after attack on numerous occasions, more often than not surprising and confounding her foe, striking fear into their hearts. She can smash several barriers of magical energy with her fist without showing any sign of pain or injury; and she can shatter almost any non-Soul Metal armour with her fist without showing any sign of pain or injury. It is also worth noting that, for nearly all the battles Kirika has endured, with the exception of one, she has never been crippled, nor has she displayed any serious injuries. Additionally, she can survive free-falls from extreme heights, falling face-first from a high point in a skyscraper twice, merely shaking it off after landing. She is durable enough to the point that if a person beats her with a thick wooden stick, the stick would eventually break and Kirika would show little discomfort. Kirika's body is adapted towards the rigors of high-speed running; indeed, her cardiovascular and respiratory systems are many times more efficient than those of a normal human being. She metabolizes an estimated ninety-five percent of the caloric energy content of foodstuffs, meanwhile, normal humans use only about twenty-five percent. The chemical processes of Kirika's musculature are so highly enhanced that her body does not generate fatigue poisons, the normal by-products of locomotion, which force the body to rest. Rather, her body constantly expels waste products during her accelerated respiration through exhalation. Kirika's durability is high enough to where she can take blows from beings with absolutely immense strength and not be fatally injured. She is also capable of going extended periods of time without sleep, being fully capable of fully resting with not much over an hour of sleep. This durability makes even her soft tissues extremely durable, and more than up to the task of rendering her virtually immune to firearms.
Other
Unique Intellect: If there is anything to fear about Kirika more than her absolutely insane combat prowess, it is her immense intellect and vast library of knowledge and secrets. Kirika possesses a perceptive eye and remarkable intuition. She possesses a genius that is rarely matched, and it is prevalent through her ways of fighting. While others were content simply to achieve the power, speed and technique of their regular powers, Kirika was interested in developing her own type of power, creating a variety of techniques and abilities to suit her needs. She has a great talent for analyzing and observing everything in her presence, allowing her to quickly understand a person's pattern of thinking and better talk to them. In battle, Kirika's preference is to concoct strategies based on deduction of her opponents' abilities and fighting style, all while under the facade of acting like a berserk. Later, she also starts to display good strategies in battle, like when she was able to take out the Rune Knights with a sawed-off shotgun, which she utilized for the first time against them, along with exploiting her immediate environment and psychological tactics to her advantage, all without harnessing her main method of combat, her Soul Armour. Against Rizevim Oberon, Kirika displayed the ability to calculate and analyze all the twenty-five thousand different kinds of energy of Rizevim's Dark Matter, while fighting at par with her and protecting the bystanders, to update her pain tolerance. Kirika has molded herself into a master strategist, tactician, and analyst. She is frequently the first person to point out or find a weakness in her opponent's abilities or fighting style and exploit them to her advantage. Nevertheless, her ability to think several steps before the enemy almost always ensures her victory. However, aside from being a combat genius, Kirika's second greatest strength in regards to her intelligence is her almost superhuman judge of character- she can discern almost everything about somebody just by observing their tics and body language. Because of this, she is highly skilled at using somebody's flaws to her advantage; however, Kirika refuses to use such knowledge against people she sees as 'strong', such as Deen Lhant. Other than that, it hinted numerous times that Kirika is illiterate, 'thanks' to her countless years in an orphanage and her dislike of education in general.
Indomitable Will: Being a born fighter with a code of honour; as the Magic Council took away everything she had in a dirty way, Kirika is determined to survive on her own in a cleaner way. This incredible willpower translates to Kirika having one of the highest Ardor gains around, as her burning desire to make her own fate results in her fighting spirit reaching truly insurmountable heights, granting her a drastically enhanced fighting time compared to other characters and an immunity to anything that could disrupt her one-track mind. A notable instance of this is that even though thanks to the Origin Demon, Varian, being sealed within her Driver Belt, constantly tempting her to unleash its full power and allow it to take over her body, Kirika compares its influence to a fly buzzing in her ear. She is shown to be able to use her fighting spirit to create structures from nothing and has been shown to be able to convert other forms of energy, including her own magical energy, into fighting spirit, which is what grants her the ability to go over the Soul Armours' runtime of 99.9 seconds, albeit only doubling the time she is capable of harnessing her armour. Kirika has also been shown to be able to use her fighting spirit to survive life-threatening injuries; this is seen when she is able to keep herself alive after having her arm torn off and then fight off her opponent, ignoring the pain she suffered long enough to later get a prosthetic. This incredible fighting spirit also translates to Kirika being completely immune to any illusion-based or mind-affecting supernatural powers, or any corruption at all.
Resolve-Based Physical Abilities: Thanks to her absolutely immense Ardor gain, Kirika has been shown to be capable of using her fighting spirit to achieve feats that defy many physical laws; because of her strong convictions, Kirika's body's natural limiters were released; granting her a physical prowess far above normal humans and even other races, like great strength, speed, agility, accuracy and coordination. Despite being, for all intents and purposes, a normal human –albeit one who has a connection to the Origin Demons- thanks to her overflowing resolve, Kirika's fighting prowess and physical abilities are on par with her rival Tsuruko, whom is a hyper-advanced android developed to destroy demons and, at full output, can destroy an entire dimension with her ultimate weapon. Deen notes that most of the things that Kirika does are impossible by human standards, such as running across particle beams, punting a skyscraper that was buried several stories underground with a sprained ankle, and she is capable of an unassisted fifty-foot vertical jump (the world record is four). Thanks to her incredible willpower, she is capable of surviving in a vacuum for some time with no permanent harm, killing armies, dragons, demons, and other foes, surviving hits by bullets, taking multiple hits from tranquilizer-darts with no effect, and otherwise being virtually impervious to pain.
Kirika's Blazing Heart activating.
Blazing Heart (ブレージング・ハート, Burējingu Hāto): Blazing Heart is the absolute manifestation of Kirika's fighting spirit; it's a power exclusive to her and her alone. Blazing Soul is a new ability awakened by Kirika pushing her fighting spirit to its utmost limits, allowing her Ardor to ascend to an even higher level than ever before. This causes Kirika's aura to manifest in the form of unquenchable scarlet flames that keep rising, while her eyes shine red. In this case, this burning fighting spirit enables Kirika to overpower and subjugate the wills of those weaker than her, allowing her to draw upon the powers of her soul and create a miracle through desire alone. If Kirika harnesses the power of Blazing Heart on a non-human being whose power could be harnessed as an augmentation of her own strength, Kirika's burning fighting spirit can overpower her target's as her willpower asserts itself over the target, stealing and absorbing its power for Kirika's own usage and erasing the target from existence. Essentially, this power is the embodiment of Kirika's will to overcome every obstacle in her way, refusing to bow to anyone. The first use of this ability was during the climax of the Silver Flash arc of Daybreak S1, where Kirika, confronting Varian, the demon who created Gehaburn and Elysdeon and was sealed within her Driver Belt, in her mind, activated Blazing Heart after the latter attempted to force her into invoking the demon's full power, her burning desire to start anew after Deen's words inspired her overpowering Varian's influence with ease, enabling her to absorb its power, destroy it, and unlock her Soul Armour's true form, Airgetlam, all through her burning passion.
Magical Abilities
Intense Magical Power: Kirika possesses an enormous amount of magical power, even rivaling that of a Wizard Saint's. As Kirika was originally bonded with the Planet-Eating Beast Varian, the Origin Demon's own magical energy merged with her own, granting her an insurmountable amount of energy. Kirika has natural control over the exertion of her magical power, keeping it contained to the point where it is virtually impossible to detect her by normal means, though the constant effort can be taxing. Kirika's magical energy itself is a horrific pitch black, crackling intensely when Kirika focuses; when Kirika's power is at it's peak, it transforms into the frightening visage of Varian, which surrounds her, striking fear into the hearts of her foes. It is so great it can be felt from a great distance and it has the tendency to make people perspire in fear. Additionally, the sheer aura radiating from her person has the additional effect of affecting entire areas to the point of disrupting spells from enemies, as well as affecting others from seemingly miles away- however, this property of her magical power is said to be a byproduct of her fighting spirit. Magic originates from a Magic Origin (魔原, Magen), which is exactly what the wording indicates—it is a special organ that is located within the body of a magician, that absorbs eternano and bunches it up into clusters, which is processed into magical power. Every magician has a container inside their body that determines the limits of their Magic Power; this is precisely what a Magic Origin is. If the case becomes empty, eternano will come from the atmosphere and enters the magician's body and after a while, their Magic Power is restored. Interestingly, Kirika is capable of morphing the properties of her magical power; as it normally saturates the vicinity as raven puffs or clouds of magical power, that usually shift from the texture of a pitch black to a mystical green; these clouds are the embodiment of Kirika's thoughts, brought forth by her absolutely enormous magical power—people will perceive her magical energy all around the area, instead of it originating from Kirika's body, leaving them unable to exactly pinpoint Kirika's existence. As she is fused with an Origin Demon, Kirika's magic is considered "pure", and she can utilize her magical power in order to power those around her and herself, giving them an inexhaustible amount of magical power, and increasing all of their attributes twentyfold.
Kirika's amazing magical aura being used to attack Tsuruko.
Magical Aura (魔力の霊気 Maryoku no Reiki; lit. Aura of Magical Power): Magical Aura is a common term given to the exertion of magical energy into a form outside of the user's body that isn't used in the formation of spells. It has been demonstrated by various magicians of varying potency, and is a common means of intimidation. A magical aura is created when the body's container of eternano particles exceeds the limits of what it contains, or is purposefully released by the user. Upon doing so, the magical energy surges around the body and is exerted outwards in the form of an aura, which holds considerable pressure surrounding it. Depending on the level of magical power one possesses and the control behind it, it can be used as a means to intimidate another individual, or as a preparation for a powerful spell. A single magical aura can have a wide variety of effects dependent on the power an individual exerts; Kirika's aura almost consumes her in its colour, leaving nothing but a phantom-like apparition to remain. It should also be noted that the aura is far wider, and is generally uncontrolled by Kirika. However, her aura isn't limited to intimidation, and can be used for the preparation of a spell. It is also worth noting that the pressure exhibited from such an aura can form a large column of energy, leaving the pressure enough to visibly cause strain on people even from a considerable distance away from the exertion of the aura, indicating at the sheer level of power within this aura. Thanks to the sheer power of her aura, Kirika's magical power is capable of dominating the magical auras of those around her; such as knocking those with weak magical powers unconscious; she can pick out weak mages in a large group and knock them out without affecting those around them. However, those with stronger magical power can resist or even ignore the effects of Kirika's Magical Aura. The ability to knock someone out depends on the difference in strength between Kirika and the person or persons she is trying to knock out. The greater the power gap, the easier it is to knock the victim out. It seems that upon recovery, victims of Kirika's aura experience the sensation of chills running throughout their body. Kirika can activate this power in two ways; the first and most common way is in a quick burst that will knock out those with weaker magical powers relatively easily. The second method is to release her pressure continuously, which will not only knock out those of weak magical powers around Kirika, but also put pressure on the surroundings, actually affecting other physical objects besides living beings.
Magic in General
Assorted Magic (雑魔法, Zamahō): Magic is the main form of combat for Magicians; it is the physical embodiment of the spirit. When the physical spirit of an organism connects with the spiritual flow of nature, the spirit forms Magic as a product of the connection. To utilize Magic, a Magician must use Magic Power (魔力, Maryoku) in their body. Magic Power is the source of Power for all Magicians, it is composed of Eternano (魔子 (エーテルナノ), Ēterunano lit. Magic Particles), which is the term coined to name particles of Magic. Eternano dwells inside all living organisms and throughout the atmosphere. Nobody knows when Magic began, or how Eternano originated. Eternano is the source of Magic Power for all Magicians; and every Magician has a container inside their body that determines the limits of their Magic Power. If the case becomes empty, Eternano will come from the atmosphere and enters the Magician's body and after a while, their Magic Power is restored. Eternano has near-zero rest mass - though, like any particle, its mass increases to reflect its potential or kinetic energy - and can carry either a positive or negative charge. In order to cast spells, a magician derives the power necessary from two sources: their own body's Magic Origin (魔原, Magen), and the atmosphere. A Magic Origin is exactly what the wording indicates—it is a special organ that is located within the body of a magician, that absorbs eternano and bunches it up into clusters, which is processed into magical power.
Every Magician has a container inside their body that determines the limits of their Magic Power; this is precisely what a Magic Origin is. If the case becomes empty, eternano will come from the atmosphere and enters the Magician's body and after a while, their Magic Power is restored. It appears that the concept of using a proportion to the user's Magic Origin or the atmosphere is dependent entirely upon the magic used in question. With internal magic such as High Speed, one requires the use of their own magic far more than external magic such as Fire Magic, where they generally rely more on atmospherically magic. By collecting eternano and subsequently imbuing it with a certain 'command' through either an incantation, hand gesture or a simple spell name, allow it to then mysteriously take upon a characteristic unique to that spell. Interestingly, some magicians, if they are descended from unique families, have shown that they are capable of replenishing their eternano faster thanks to unique traits. However, recent studies have identified another, unused, part of a Magician's Magic container that contains a large amount of dormant power: the Second Origin. If a Magician somehow manages to unlock their Second Origin, they will then receive an enormous boost in Magic Power, or they can wait until the right moment to unleash the Magic Power of their Second Origin in order to gain an advantage in the battle.
Despite her incredible amounts of magical power, Kirika isn't too fond of magic, other than what she has already learned, which is to say all of three spells. She believes magic to be a "cheap trick", and prefers to get up close and personal with her opponents, fighting like a berserker without any regard for ranged attacks, essentially sacrificing variability for overwhelming physical might. Indeed, because of her desire to focus on close combat, the three spells she has learnt have been honed to utter perfection, the reason for which is because while she mainly goes about smashing her opponents around, she would logically need some sort of failsafe in case she finds herself in a bind. Thus, Kirika solely relies on her Soul Armour, her swordsmanship, and hand-to-hand combat to get herself through battle.
Kurokage (黒影 (クロカゲ), Black Shadow): Kurokage is the name of Kirika's signature spell. It is an uncategorized spell; or rather, it probably does have a branch of magic that is belongs to, but Kirika doesn't really give a damn about naming it. Interestingly, Kurokage is one of the very few non-basic spells capable of being utilized in conjunction with Soul Metal; Kirika refers to it as a "gift by Varian", whom inhabits her Driver Belt. It is considered a subspecies of Elemental Body (エレメンタル・ボディ, Erementaru Bodi), which is a special spell that any Elemental Magic user is capable of—but only if they have mastered their magic. When performing Elemental Body, the user takes the concept of "absorb the element into your body to give you a boost" one step further; the user integrates the element of their choice into their flesh and fuses it with their body. Together with the signature intangibility of Elemental Magic, which allows the user to let physical and Magical attacks pass harmlessly through their body when they're transformed, this form also grants the user some traits typical of the real element, which vary from version to version. Due to the velocity in which the user attacks, the user's attacks are enhanced drastically; however, their attacks become more predictable the more that the battle drags on, and when transporting themselves, the user can only transport to one point of a place per transport, changing a point in space is next to impossible during transport. In essence, it enables her to transform her body into a gaseous form that can ensnare and lift opponents off the ground, among other things. In order to initiate the transformation, Kirika releases extremely high purified magical particle concentrations; and in that instant burst, her magical energy envelops her and reduces her body to wispy black smoke and embers; which is actually her own magical energy influenced by her inner darkness. This gaseous form grants her near unparalleled speed and an immunity to harm when transformed; essentially granting her the status of semi-flight. With this spell, Kirika is capable of closing the distance between herself and enemies, and can even use it go through them, attacking and then re-materializing continually as a form of a 'speed blitz'. Since she is capable of transforming her body into smoke, Kirika can use the smoke dash to go through structures with openings, like chain-link fences, iron bars and pipe-like structures; this is a major reason why the Magic Council has never caught her, as she can simply escape through the ventilation systems and anything that has the smallest of openings, making her virtually impossible to corner unless under specific circumstances. The smoke is virtually insubstantial, so Kirika can use this power to avoid injury. She can control the flow of the vapor through the air, allowing her to, as mentioned before, fly, squeeze herself through tight passages, or move objects about -she could pull a person out from under a mob attacking them by dispersing and reforming them nearby, or steal her opponents' weapons by vaporizing them into their hands and bringing them to her own. She can move around with a partner, or send objects to a new location within traveling with them, providing she can visualize the new location in her mind; an extension of this is that Kirika is capable of engulfing a target with smoke by sending it towards them instead of using it to surround herself, this causes the target to float above the ground, being guided by her hand in a similar manner to that of Telekinesis. However, the weakness of this spell is that it normally takes her a split second to transform her body into smoke, preventing Kirika from moving out of the way of enemy attacks if she is too slow to activate the spell. The maximum speed that Kirika moves at is over three hundred kilometers per hour, which is the maximum velocity at which she is still able to breathe.
Kirika using her version of Defenser in her battle against Amadam in Daybreak S2.
Defenser (魔関 (ディフェンサー), Difensā lit. Magic Barrier) is a basic magic spell, and one of the first spells any magician learns—it, along with Magic Ray, are the two defining powers of a magician. When performing Defenser, the user releases their magical energy outwards, utilizing Shape Transformation in order to mold their energy into the form of a hexagonal structure that surrounds them—before their magical energy reacts with the ambient eternano saturated within the environment, solidifying the structure, causing it to take the form of a hexagonal barrier that surrounds the user's body which acts as a shield in order to defend against the attacks of the enemy. The shield itself is similar to a geodesic dome, made of tessellating hexagons. The shield protects against magic, bullets, explosions, and other projectiles—however, enemies are still capable of passing through it if they nullify their magic. Also, if Defenser successfully guards an attack, it unleashes a spray of light around the dome that does damage equal to the enemy's attack power to anything hit by the light. In fact all attacks can be reflected, with correct timing. The user can manipulate the barrier into a number of relatively simple forms: rectangular planes, cylinders, globes, domes, cones, etc; it is an extremely powerful form of defense. The complexity of the shape is limited by the user's ability to imagine, as in, mentally visualize a particular form and keep it in sharp mental focus: not even the user is able to see the forms that they create. The size of a given magical force projection is also limited by the user's ability to imagine. The smallest force projection they can visualize and maintain the visualization is the size of a marble. The largest solid force projection they can visualize and maintain is about one hundred feet in diameter. The user can project larger force-objects if they are hollow. For instance, they could visualize and project a dome one foot thick about a mile in diameter (five thousand, two hundred and eighty feet) and a dome one inch in thickness the user can project for about three point two miles. Small objects at high speeds become missiles; large objects at slow speeds become rams. The user can make these objects grow or shrink as desired. In any case, the barriers can be very complex and elaborate barriers, or very simple shaped barriers such as circles or squares. These barriers can also hide the presence of the things it coats or even make the target invisible. However, Defenser is slightly difficult to use has it can only manipulate so many magical particles at a time and it required precise timing—despite this, once the user gets the hang of casting Defenser, it will be incredibly simple to harness it in any way that they wish. However, despite being far more advanced than any other barrier, it still suffers from magical draining. The barrier can only be used for a total of one hundred and five seconds and requires one hundred and twenty seconds to cool down. If the user has no other defensive measures this leaves a window of fifteen seconds where they have no defense against attacks. A special trait of Defenser is that with any Elemental Magic, the user is capable of infusing their element into the barrier, granting it special properties that make Defenser an extremely versatile spell. Kirika's version of Defenser is drastically more versatile and powerful than nearly any other version—indeed, the barriers are strong enough to defend against even an Abyss Break spell. The shield can also be used for offensive purposes, launching forward to create powerful forces to strike the targets, or to deflect forces sent by enemies right back at them. Kirika can also use the attack to shield others by swinging the energy towards her ally and then covering them in the coat of magical power and thus giving them greater protection from oncoming attacks. Activation of this technique makes it necessary for Kirika to provide double the magical power to form the shield due to its unique construction, and if it is struck, she will feel pain and receive damage in accordance. Kirika can also materialize it from a distance, allowing her to shield Deen from Amadam without either of them realizing it during Daybreak S2. This wall can also disperse the resultant force of an impact at the instant of receiving an attack with the starry energy as a concentrated explosion that is automatically returned along the attack's opposing trajectory. It is able to protect from enemies, magic, and some other hazards and after hitting one of aforementioned alternatives, the shield disappears and Kirika must wait to re-summon it.
Defenser Counter: Defenser is also capable of being utilized as a form of counterattack, allowing the user to deliver damage to the attacker when the user is hit; essentially, it is just as it is labeled; a counterattack. When performing Defenser Counter, the user kicks Defenser away from them upon the moment of the spell being activated, before returning to them as magnetized. This serves not only as a reflector, but also as an unpredictable approach to opponents. If timed correctly, it will trip opponents, leaving them vulnerable to follow-up attacks. Upon contact with the opposing technique, Defenser reverses the opponent's attack, whether it be close-range or projectile, upon them, returning it to sender, causing the user to retaliate in any way that they wish as well. If the attack is a projectile, it will simply be deflected behind them and upwards at about a thirty degree angle. It's worth noting explosive projectiles can still explode and will still do damage if they are struck when the Defenser is dissipated. If the attack is a powerful spell such as a Secret Art, then the attacker will be knocked back at a ninety degree angle. The user is capable of leaping out of the counterattack, allowing them to take the opponent by surprise. Essentially, a Defenser, when used to counter, multiplies a spell or technique's damage by one point five percent when there is a successful counter. If a projectile is reversed several times, then this method of harnessing Defenser will be rendered null and void, as the user loses the energy to retain the stance, and the projectile just passes through the stance and damages the user normally. Defenser is capable of being used for regular offense, as with it, the user is capable of knocking their opponent downwards. Defenser, when used as a counterattack, weaker when used against airborne opponents, and doesn't become invincible. It can travel through enemies unhindered, though. However, since the user kicks it, they cannot hold it in place, meaning that timing is crucial in reflecting projectiles. Note that when Defenser comes back to the user, it can also reflect any projectiles back at any angle at the last second.
Vehemence Edge (暗黒方躍進 (ヴィエメンス・エッジ), Viemensu Ejji lit. Darkside Onslaught): Vehemence Edge is Kirika's signature (and only) offensive spell; it is a power akin to Giselle Mercury's Shining Onslaught, and the Sword Beam spell in general. When performing Vehemence Edge, Kirika condenses stray energy onto Stormbringer, adding her own power into the mix as her magical aura erupts; the magical aura swells around the sword, before converging at a singular point—the tip of the sword; intensifying the kinetic energy that is about to be released by convergence and acceleration. Swinging forth, Kirika unleashes a massive horizontal slash in the form of a wave of her magical aura that is released in a semicircle that is centered around Kirika. To enhance the attack, Kirika can manifest swords floating behind her in the form of wings as bullets coated in her magical aura alongside the blast of energy; and she generally readies numerous swords at a time, upon snapping her fingers, the seemingly infinite number of swords can be fired without pause. They move and take aim at the target according to Kirika will, being launched with high velocity. Due to an enormous amount of swords being fired at the same time, it is incredibly difficult to block many of the strikes. She starts out with lower numbers of swords, but increases the number of swords fired in a volley depending on the situation. Upon firing them, she can allow them to pierce the ground after striking the target, causing a large amount of destruction with each sword similar to a carpet bombing; the speed of the attack is so swift that most foes cannot realize that they have been struck until she has finished her assault. The wings are mostly used to surround her foe, able to exploit any available opening at a moment's notice. Due to this, this version possesses the additional effect of being able to surprise the foe no matter how much they have witnessed the technique as it is easily adaptable. The whiplash of the attack can be quite huge, usually blowing apart anything behind her at the time of attack. The beam is powerful enough to strike multiple enemies and even two adjacent foes simultaneously while its mere presence covers any exposed light in magical aura; violently pushing the intended opponent and objects around them away from her with overwhelming blunt force. Despite being such a small beam, the range of Vehemence Edge is vast and its attack power is positively enormous; this is because the thin beam contains all the power of the magical aura compressed; essentially a wave of magical aura which shoots forwards towards the opponent with extreme force. The compacted nature and moving speed of the magical aura that composes the spell allows the attack to grind into whatever it comes in contact with to inflict major damage. This tends to launch the target backward after being hit or, if the opponent is knocked to the ground or being launched towards the ground, the destructive force is enough to form a crater. The spell locks on to Kirika's opponents no matter their position, chasing after them. The blast can dodge obstacles in it's way, unless it is not physically possible, never ceasing it's hunt until it catches it's prey. Along with its astounding destructive power, the attack has a delayed effect if the initial blast should fail, wherein the target will be blasted by residual effects left over by the spell; while not as overwhelming as the initial blast, the after-effect can catch foes off guard. The attack seems to possess highly destructive power, having caused great damage to the area it affected, destroying the ground and piercing through buildings alike, and appears to have a long range, wreaking havoc wherever it passes, as shown when it crossed the entire distance of Hargeon, generating a large explosion. It has been shown to be immensely powerful, devouring large fragments of rocks and erasing extremely high powered spells with ease. The beam carves a violent trail of destruction wherever it moves, destroying everything in a straight line as a tornado trails around it as it completely overwhelms all it devours, as by colliding with most structures and opponents, grinding into the opponent like a powerful drill that is capable of piercing through any and every defense; striking them with such incredible power that the sheer force of the attack is enough to upturn steel, and wipe her enemies away with a force akin to an inferno. It is capable of blasting through even magical forms of defenses, as the beam's movements swaths through the barriers, and supernatural defenses erected in vain to protect them, striking the foe formidable might, dealing physical damage. It should be noted that activating this technique costs little to no power, and thus, Vehemence Edge is easily one of Kirika's most useful techniques.
Soul Armour
Soul Armours (神鎧, Sōru Āmā lit. God Armour) are specialized armours worn by various powerful warriors known as Soul Armour Knights (神鎧纏最高戦士 (ソウル・アーマー・ナイト), Sōru Āmā Naito lit. God Armour Clad Supreme Warrior); they are human or humanoid warriors who transforms from a natural human form using a Driver Belt into a superhuman form clad in the armour. The Knights secretly patrol their respective territories to protect civilians from demons. Armed with special equipment, the knights carry an eternal war to maintain the light over the darkness in the realm. When transforming into her Soul Armour, Kirika slips the Change Ring upon her finger, and scans the ring over the GingaOh Driver; causing the belt to expand around her waist like a deck of cards wrapping around. When the power of the Galaxy King is called by Kirika, its appearance causes a destructive burst that damages anything within a few feet of her body. While the transformation process takes under a second, a skilled opponent can use that chance to prevent Kirika from donning the armour and/or even rob her of her armour if they are capable enough; it would render Kirika limited in combat strength, as she leaves the projections, everything about her changes completely. In S1, her Soul Armour is the Super Galaxy King (超銀河王, Chō Ginga Ō) which is actually a corrupted version brought upon by Varian's fusion with Kirika; however, in the Silver Flash arc, her Soul Armour undergoes an evolution to its true form; which is known as Soul Armour Knight Airgetlam (神鎧纏最高戦士 (ソウル・アーマー・ナイト) ・破婁 (アガートラーム), Sōru Āmā Naito Agātorāmu lit. God Armour Clad Supreme Warrior Tearing Bond).
Armour Purge (霰弾銃散 (アーマー・パージ), Āmā Pāji lit. Shotgun Scatter): Armour Purge is one of two actual Soul Armour spells; it was designed to allow the user to fire their Soul Armour as a buckshot, shooting it over a wide range after forcibly releasing it from their body. The ability also completely cancels the transformation. When initiating Armour Purge, the user focuses their fighting spirit, and instead of concentrating it at a single point like it is required to harness the other powers of their Soul Armours, the user focuses it into their fists, feet, and chest, burning brighter until that fighting spirit becomes impossible to control, causing the Soul Armour to forcibly disengage, portions of the armour flying in all directions similar to a scattershot or shrapnel. Since the Driver Canceller caused a forced drop in the user's link coefficient, not only does it lower the effectiveness of the Soul Armour's battle strength, but it also brings about damage to the user from the backfire created by an imbalance in their belt's Ardor output. Therefore, it is an effective weapon to utilize against knights. Although this is a technique that can only be used once, and is a gamble with high risk for the user, Kirika frequently uses it with little regard for the potential fallback which resulted in not only avoiding any damage she would have to endure from the backfire, but also instantly obliterating numerous opponents if they are in the vicinity. However, the use of this ability, naturally, removes the user's Soul Armour, making it a risky move if there are enemies still lurking around. Interestingly, even before it was officially named, Armour Purge was utilized in the climax of the Silver Flash arc when Kirika first unlocked Airgetlam, where she used it to shed the carapace of the Super Galaxy King armour to reveal Airgetlam's shining frame underneath. In addition, when Kirika is utilizing Airgetlam's Super Mode, she is capable of using Armour Purge to shed the bulky wings of Deadheat Airgetlam, allowing her to wield them hand-to-hand as blades.
Caledfwlch Armour (カレドヴルフ・アーマー, Karedovurufu Āmā): The Caledfwlch Armour is a special Magitek Armour that is equipped by Kirika in a majority of her combat appearances. The Caledfwlch Armour takes the form of a skintight battle-suit, which is similar to a futuristic armour clad completely in what appear to be blades. This armour has multiple black marks and lining, and thin breast-plates keeping Kirika's highly developed breasts raised. It is noted to be mostly an extremely light-blue in coloration, with numerous metallic attachments to cover the outer side of her legs and arms—both starting with jagged plates and pauldrons on her hips and shoulders, respectively. There is a collar around her neck; and on the back of the armour, six varying types of swords fan out in a wing-like formation, with one enormous sword straight down the middle. The Caledfwlch is shown to be equipped with long variable X-shaped thrusters, composed of four thrusters can be pointed at any direction: the main thrusters allow high mobility around the upper atmosphere, while combined into one huge rocket column they largely increased Kirika's top speed, without increasing the size and mass of the armour, and therefore, although the Caledfwlch is smaller and lighter than other magical armours, these features serve to make it faster, more maneuverable, and all-around more efficient. In addition to this, the Caledfwlch Armour is equipped with a cloth cloak that had been treated with an anti-magic coating. Functioning similar to the old physical shields that had received the same treatment, the cloak is used to protect the armour from magic. With its size it can completely cover the armour, with the exception of the head, providing full body protection. However, despite its advantages, one of which is conserving power, the cloak has two disadvantages. First, unlike a magic shield the cloak can only handle about 5 shots before the coating wears off, rendering the cloak to simple cloth. The second disadvantage is that the cloak offers no protection from physical weapons. However, due to the Caledfwlch Armour's ability to dispense obstructing fog, which greatly reduces accuracy and the combat capabilities of many mages, such disadvantages can be greatly mitigated. Unlike other users of Magitek Armour, Kirika primarily uses her Driver Belt- though she has used the powers of the Caledfwlch Armour to fight when she cannot transform or to toy with her opponents. When questioned by Deen Lhant on why she doesn't just get rid of the armour when she has a Driver Belt, Kirika replied that the armour was a gift from one of the few people she ever cared about, the old lady who offered to take her in when she lost her parents; because of this, she couldn't bear to part with it. Although the Caledfwlch is not a Soul Armour and thus does not grant her an extraordinary boost in terms of power, Kirika uses this armour as an intermediary for her Super Galaxy King armour; as said armour is not a "true" Soul Armour, by using Caledfwlch as medium, the GingaOh Driver is capable of recognizing Super Galaxy King as a Soul Armour and thus properly summoning it.
Super Galaxy King
Kirika, in the armour of the Super Galaxy King.
Super Galaxy King (超銀河王, Chō Ginga Ō): Informally known as the Golden Wizard (金の魔法使い, Kin no Mahōtsukai) by the Phoenix Knight, the Galaxy King is the moniker that Kirika took upon; it is considered akin to an Incomplete Form of a Prototype Soul Armour Knight. Early appearances of the Galaxy King are regarded with something akin to horror, as the mere presence of the new Galaxy King inspired fear and dread in almost everyone present. Like all Soul Armours, the armour of the Super Galaxy King is completely composed of soul metal and designed after a motif. Beyond the motif of a fallen angel, the armour is designed to be more gallant and noble in appearance; which is ironic considering the motivation of the wearer; it is 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—while so pure, it strikes fear into the hearts of the user's opponents. The golden helmet's cold, azure eyes stared straight into the foes' souls, as the user's existence as something so corrupted yet so pure is made clear. Adorned in golden plating intermixed with black, the armour radiates a bright golden hue and occasionally blasts flame to create a powerful psychological effect upon its opponents. Because the armour is composed of soul metal, the user's mental/emotional discipline will reflect on the strength of the Super Galaxy King as well. Originally, since Varian was sealed within the GingaOh Driver, the belt could not manifest its true form, instead being summoned in a corrupted state which is only half the power of the actual Soul Armour. It can be considered akin to a permanent Junction that manifests whenever Kirika transforms; this allows Kirika to replicate the powers of the Planet-Eating Beast Varian; filtering out magic (known as drawing) from Varian and storing it ready to be used by Kirika. This allows Kirika to possess near superhuman abilities, such as increased speed and strength, as well as being able to use magic. As the Super Galaxy King, Kirika's natural abilities are multiplied many times over. Her already impressive strength is increased a thousand-fold, her speed and reflexes are highly increased, she gains the ability to fly and she also becomes virtually invulnerable so long as her transformation lasts; however, the chains draping her arms and legs in this form serve as a limiter to her power that she cannot remove unless she gives in to Varian's influence.
Limit Break (必殺技 (リミット・ブレイク), Rimitto Bureiku lit. Finishing Move): A Limit Break is the "ultimate attack" (絶招, Zesshō) of a Soul Armour—they are extremely powerful attacks enabled via the user taking damage in some way. When the user takes enough damage to gain an enormous amount of energy, they may perform a Limit Break. The user gains more energy to perform a Limit Break as they get angrier, and foes push them to their limits, the user unleashes an "unimaginable power". When the user's fighting spirit rises to its ultimate limit, for a short while it aligns with and emits from the user's body, allowing powerful abilities that cannot be performed in a natural state. Though generally, a Soul Armour Knight has no problem dealing with mere magicians and other magical races, against beings such as symbiotes and other Soul Armour Knights, they require much more than 'stab it/kick it/punch it until it goes down'. Thus, the Limit Breaks come into play. It gathers their fighting spirit and transforms it into power, unleashing a single attack with no equal aside from other Limit Breaks. As the Super Galaxy King, Kirika has an unnamed Limit Break where darkness conjures around her chainsword, this negative energy intensifies until it appears as if a black mist is all that extends from the hilt; Kirika then swings the weapon down with both hands, which unleashes a black torrent of energy that vaporizes everything in front of her.
Airgetlam
Kirika as Soul Armour Knight Airgetlam, the purified version of her GingaOh Driver's Soul Armour.
— Kirika's activation phrase and the GingaOh Driver's transformation announcement for the Airgetlam Soul Armour.
Soul Armour Knight Airgetlam (神鎧纏最高戦士 (ソウル・アーマー・ナイト) ・破婁 (アガートラーム), Sōru Āmā Naito Agātorāmu lit. God Armour Clad Supreme Warrior Tearing Bond): Soul Armour Knight Airgetlam is the true name of the GingaOh Driver's summoned Soul Armour; gained when Kirika purges herself of Varian's corroding influence in the Silver Flash arc of Daybreak S1, causing it to undergo an evolution into its true form, now purified from darkness. In Kirika's first transformation, she momentarily turned into the Super Galaxy King form before the armour broke apart to reveal her true Soul Armour form. The appearance of the Airgetlam armour is silver and bird-like; some parts of its body, such as the interior part of its armour and its hands, are coloured violet. It has red in its crest and other parts of the body, as well as some green crystals. The armour's claws are yellow and have a single pair of wings referred to as the Power Gail Wings (パワー・ゲイル・ウィングズ, Pawā Geiru Uinguzu) which are as silver as Airgetlam's body and possess three segments in a row extending from its back, as well as a tail. The armour is arranged in such a way that the arrangement of its particles and geometrical structure provide supernatural protection to the unit. The movements work in conjunction with a sliding mechanism for the dividing armour panels. The internal frame is composed of smaller and flexible components which utilize armour panels that can separate into smaller portions to allow Kirika's legs to move through their full range of motion. The joints are constructed of the same materials found in Gaiki. When activated, it is possible to adjust the stiffness of the joints during motion. The reaction also produces a metallic glow when the joints are active. The result is an overall increase in the joints' range of motion and flexibility of the arms and legs. However, this occurs at the cost of vulnerable areas present in the exposed sections of the armour. This problem was partially alleviated by mapping out the ranges of motion of the frame using Kirika's combat performance to determine the most efficient way to separate the armour parts. This gives Airgetlam's armour sufficient defense without sacrificing maneuverability and speed. Airgetlam has a less aerodynamic design than its incomplete form, but it can achieve far greater speeds. This is due to six thrusters acting as its primary means of propulsion to create large bursts of acceleration.
In this form, Kirika receives a significant boost in stats compared to her Super Galaxy King form; being stronger than both Gaiki's Shin form and Zero, as well as having a running speed that is just mere seconds faster than either of them. She also has a stronger punching power than Gaiki's normal form and her jumping height is almost as high as Phenex's. Overall, out of the original seven Prototype Soul Armours, Airgetlam is the strongest in terms of sheer statistics, though thanks to Gaiki's self-evolving nature, the two are about equal overall. As a contrast to other Soul Armour Knights, whom summon their Arms Weapons by revving the lever on their belts once after transformation, Kirika is capable of summoning her Airgetlam sword through the will of mind; though she is also capable of wielding her Stormbringer blade as a side-arm, enabling her to dual-wield. Taking her intense fighting spirit into account, she is also capable of forming wing-esque structures for various purposes through sheer force of will. However, unlike the Super Galaxy King, Airgetlam has no chains on its body; giving Kirika access to an unlimited potential of power that is hindered within her corrupted Soul Armour. In addition, unlike the corrupted Super Galaxy King form, Airgetlam is able to destroy the souls of Hellions just as the armours were originally intended to do, as Varian's influence has been removed from the Soul Armour. Unusually, very similarly to the Phoenix Knight/Phenex, Airgetlam is rarely referred to by its official name, often simply called The Silver Soul Armour Knight (白銀の神鎧纏最高戦士 (ソウル・アーマー・ナイト), Shirogane no Sōru Āmā Naito).
Kirika as Soul Armour Knight Airgetlam wielding the Arms Weapon, Crissaegrim.
Arms Weapon: Crissaegrim (断罪の銀鎧剣, Kurisegurimu lit. Silver-Armoured Sword of Conviction): The Crissaegrim is the name of the Arms Weapon manifested by the Airgetlam Soul Armour. It takes the form of a medieval-styled sword that can extend into a whip sword. It has the ability to expand to contract at will—as its design was based upon an Asian multi-segmented whip. The Crissaegrim has a hilt and crossguard, with golden etchings. The crossguard appears to go narrower as it rises, and goes gold as well. It's rather thick, and the blade is similarly thick. It's darker grey on the interior and silver on the exterior—the blade is connected by a series of thick, golden wires it appears, and it appears like a longsword when not extended, albeit shorter. With a three-pronged, silver cross-guard with an emerald gem in the hilt, the Crissaegrim is a twelve-part segmented blade—each segment is wider than the one it is before, all shaped like a spear-tip. Truth be told, the Crissaegrim's segments all have the ability to grow in number and extend without limit—all of them are connected by a thin wire of Soul Metal; as an Arms Weapon, the Crissaegrim not only does serious damage to a Hellion, but to any demon. Even a Magius, such as Amadam, is damaged by the blade; indeed, the weapon can damage most divine beings that take tangible form in the physical world. As the weapon is made of soul metal, relative to Kirika's skills, she can manipulate the weight of the weapon to increase or decrease it to in different situations to increase or minimize damage. While Kirika is capable of utilizing her chainsword as a medium to summon the Crissaegrim, she is also able to summon it alongside her chainsword and combine the two into a configuration known as Naginata Mode (ナギナタ・モード, Naginata Mōdo), which is, of course, a double weapon. Something interesting to note is that the Crissaegrim is quite possibly one of the most versatile Arms Weapons out of the main cast - aside from Naginata Mode, Kirika is capable of attaching the whip-sword to her wrist, allowing the weapon to function similarly to that of a 'blade below the shoulder', enhancing Kirika's blows in regards to her hand-to-hand combat, but while in this setup, she is capable of aiming the arm her sword is attached to at her opponents and from there launch varying amounts of silver spikes at the opponent. While in this configuration and attached higher at her elbow, the Crissaegrim is a major part of the Vega Slash Limit Break.
Kirika as Soul Armour Knight Airgetlam harnessing the Aerorider Knight Power.
Knight Power: Aerorider (エアロライダー, Earoraidā): Aerorider is the name of Airgetlam's Knight Power; effectively, Aerorider enables Kirika to move anything related to the sky with her thoughts alone, allowing her to manipulate the wind around her at her will; granting her high offensive power, allowing her to assault enemies in different ways, enabling Kirika to generate further wind through air circulation, as well as to manipulate the wind around her at her will. Generally, attacks with Aerorider consist mainly of short to mid-ranged offensive techniques that combine brute force and keen precision to deal cutting and slashing damage. Kirika has achieved absolute mastery over the skies; this grants her incredibly high offensive power, enabling her to assault her foes in countless ways; she not only has control over wind, but taken to an entirely new level, Kirika has control over air molecules and anything associated with their composition, enabling her to manifest and manipulate air of any strength and intensity; she displays a level of aerokinesis far beyond normal wind-based magic users and even perhaps those with Lost Magics which revolve around wind; she has absolute dominance over the heavens, the azure skies- if an enemy were to attempt to utilize a wind-based power against her, Kirika could effortlessly take control of the power and turn it against them with twice the power as it had under the ownership of her inferiors. Simply by raising her hand towards an attack, she can deflect it with an invisible shield of wind. Unlike most other wind-based users. When Kirika is harnessing her Knight Power Aerorider can enable Airgetlam's wings to absorb air from the atmosphere in order to bolster the strength and scale of her next attack. Additionally, Kirika, through intense focus, is capable of absorbing external sources of air in order to restore her body and vitality- though she cannot restore her own energies this way. However, a downside to this function is that Kirika is directly affected by the air surrounding her, meaning that, if the air were to be clean, she would become more powerful, but if it were to be heavily polluted, it would be hazardous for her health. Some of Kirika's deadliest and most devious abilities with Aerorider is the creation of miniaturized hurricanes that can bring destruction to anything that comes into contact with the wall of wind; in addition to their rotational power, they retain the signature sharpness of her winds- these hurricanes create pressure of enormous proportions, flinging everything that it touches away at horrifying velocities. Kirika can even siphon the air out of others' lungs; suffocating anyone she wishes with no more than a thought or incapacitating them by saturating their surroundings with oxygen. Due to Kirika's love of close-range combat, she normally harnesses Aerorider in order to reduce the air currents around her body to low enough levels to no longer inhibit her movements, enabling her to zip about with impunity. Overall, due to her mastery of an elemental nature that is essentially goddamn invisible, Kirika in Airgetlam has been referred to as one of the most feared users of wind-based powers.
Kirika as Soul Armour Knight Airgetlam beginning the Vega Slash Limit Break.
Limit Break (必殺技 (リミット・ブレイク), Rimitto Bureiku lit. Finishing Move): A Limit Break is the "ultimate attack" (絶招, Zesshō) of a Soul Armour—they are extremely powerful attacks enabled via the user taking damage in some way. When the user takes enough damage to gain an enormous amount of energy, they may perform a Limit Break. The user gains more energy to perform a Limit Break as they get angrier, and foes push them to their limits, the user unleashes an "unimaginable power". When the user's fighting spirit rises to its ultimate limit, for a short while it aligns with and emits from the user's body, allowing powerful abilities that cannot be performed in a natural state. Though generally, a Soul Armour Knight has no problem dealing with mere magicians and other magical races, against beings such as symbiotes and other Soul Armour Knights, they require much more than 'stab it/kick it/punch it until it goes down'. Thus, the Limit Breaks come into play. It gathers their fighting spirit and transforms it into power, unleashing a single attack with no equal aside from other Limit Breaks. As Soul Armour Knight Airgetlam, Kirika has access to the Limit Break called Vega Slash (銀凰満月斬り, Bega Surasshu lit. Silver Phoenix Full Moon Slash), where after attaching her Arms Weapon to the elbow of the gauntlet on her left arm, she charges at the enemy by utilizing the Wings of Light as propulsion, and slashes through them. This Limit Break is powerful enough to kill Gemini, a member of the Zodiac Knights in her Symbiote Soul Armour in a single blow. Kirika also has another Limit Break called the Burai Kick (無頼・キック, Burai Kikku lit. Ruffian Kick), where Kirika leaps into the air, engulfed by an silver energy passing through a line of seals shaped like Varian's emblem with a high concentration of silver energy focused on her right foot as she strikes the target with a powerful kick. Finally, Kirika can also perform the Spinning Tornado (スピニング・トルネード, Supiningu Torunēdo) Limit Break, where she dashes at the opponent while whirling around at high speeds, generating enough excess wind to effectively become a spiraling top of death - upon collision, the gale-force winds of the miniature tornado that shrouds her body is transferred to the enemy, blowing them away. Together, Kirika/Airgetlam and Deen/Zero can perform the Double Limit Break known as Starcross Reunion (武神双天波, Sutākurosu Reyunion lit. Martial God Paired Heaven Wave), where Kirika and Deen thrust their swords into the ground, generating a massive upsurge of fighting spirit in the form of two glyphs that paralyze the opponent as to hold them in place - from here, both Kirika and Deen jump into the air while retrieving Airgetlam and Zero's Arms Weapons, charging their armaments with energy before unleashing two powerful streams of energy - silver for Kirika/Airgetlam and gold for Deen/Zero - in midair, the streams will twist and then converge into a single, powerful blast, which annihilates the enemy.
Airgetlam: Survive Mode (アガートラーム・サバイブ・モード, Agātorāmu: Sabaibu Mōdo): Survive Mode is the term pertaining to Soul Armours that have unlocked a much more powerful form. The Survive Mode is activated by scanning the Survive Rings (サバイブ・リング, Sabaibu Ringu) over the Driver Belts, causing the Soul Armours to undergo a specific evolution exclusive to themselves, more often than not resulting in a sleeker form. The Survive Rings were developed to the blueprint stage but never constructed, as it were considered too powerful for any user; and later on, Giselle Mercury managed to stabilize them with help from her father, who added his own exalted magical power into the rings. The Survive Modes offer drastically enhanced parameters, which are actually the user's powers boosted to their absolute limits. However, in the case of Airgetlam, Kirika is simply capable of activating the form by a strong desire of any kind. When entering Survive Mode, Kirika revs the GingaOh Driver, exclaiming "Survive!" at the top of her lungs; her wild emotions influence the GingaOh Driver to unleash the form- this causes Airgetlam to become wreathed in brilliant and powerful flames, while Airgetlam discards its unnecessary armour, granting an enormous boost in speed and power; especially the former. The introduction of lighter parts and vernier/attitude control thrusters allows Airgetlam in Survive Mode to achieve mobility unprecedented in the history of armour-type warriors. What should be noted that there is a time lag of half a second when Kirika initiates Survive Mode- giving her opponents time to get the jump on her. In addition, because Airgetlam has discarded its unnecessary parts, it has paper-thin armour. The weakness of that Survive Mode is stamina itself. Using it involves consuming great amounts of stamina, causing Kirika to only be capable of utilizing it for ten seconds at most. In Survive Mode, Airgetlam's speed and power can wreak havoc on the battlefield, piercing through the enemy lines and smashing everything in between. Essentially, the Survive Mode allows Airgetlam to move at ten times the speed of sound for usually ten seconds, her physical attacks also become twice as strong and she can perform a new variety of her regular finishing techniques.
Hyper-Speed Combat: From the moment that she activates Survive Mode, Kirika compresses her power into a small, condensed form, and uses the power of the form in order to perform high-speed combat; hitting the peak of her speed when she sheds the back armour of Airgetlam. Her new speed enhances her movements a hundredfold, allowing her to create dozens of afterimages to confuse her opponent. When in Survive Style, Airgetlam generates excessive amounts of heat, before dissipating the excess heat by shedding the outer layers of the armour; to onlookers, it seems as if Kirika utilizes some form of Teleportation Magic; creating multiple afterimages made up of metallic particles while enabling her to move at even higher speeds than before. As the afterimages are composed of metallic particles; they contain mass, and with her Varian powers, Kirika can install one movement into them the moment they are formed, such as an attack or defense in order to assault her foe. Even if someone could detect her trajectory, it is near impossible to catch her. It can be theorized that Kirika can keep up this speed as long as she wishes. By focusing this power into a single leg, Kirika can launch a much faster kick with much greater impact. Kirika's speed appears to create up to eight doubles of herself while in motion. These doubles are not illusory; Kirika is moving at a speed between different positions that is faster than the speed of sound. As such, were all the doubles to attack at once, it would mean that Kirika is attacking from all those positions simultaneously, giving her incredible destructive power. Similarly, because of this same speed, attacking the doubles would be futile as Kirika would have moved long before the attack even reaches her. Essentially, because of this power, Airgetlam in Survive Mode has extreme high speed and maneuverability, along with unlimited bursts of accelerations; increasing amount of thrust produced. It should be noted that the expansion of this energy produces a crimson sphere of power solidified fighting spirit, causing it to become essentially an energy ball that surrounds her as she moves. Kirika mainly utilizes this to fly in like a meteor, dealing damage as she moves. Overall, Survive Mode increases Airgetlam's speed and attack by thrice its normal specifications.
"As long as I've got Deen, I'm fine. I'll get into trouble and into fights as usual, even if I'm fighting for my life, it's going to work out in the end. That's what I've decided. No matter how many people I kill and how much I destroy, everything's going to be resolved, and at the end of it all, we can be happy. Ever since I've met him, it's happened time and time again. When we fought that jokey bitch. That's also how it was when those idiots and Deen and I fought you and those stupid high magicians. That's how it was when we met during that apocalypse as well. All my past experiences have shown that to be true. Because of that, as long as I've Deen, I know it's going to be fine. No matter what happens, he'll forgive me in the end."
— Kirika Hotsuin, to Leanne Rockwell during their final confrontation, Daybreak S3, Chaser, Deadheat
Kirika's most unique interactions are with that of the Rune Knight known as Deen Lhant- indeed, they have a dynamic relationship that is almost universally agreed by the fans of Daybreak to be the most rewarding portions of Kirika's own story arcs. Their relationship got off to a rocky start in S1, where Kirika approached both Deen and her rival, Tsuruko Sejren after the latter had first activated her Deus Machina Mode in public, laying waste to Cancer and Gemini of the Zodiac Knights. Laughing at her "allies" defeats by a berserk Tsuruko, Kirika jokingly mentioned that she would date him if they weren't enemies because of how caring he was- ironically, later on as they interacted more, it became more and more obvious that she meant it. During the Silver Flash arc, Kirika, beginning to become interested in Deen after he took on the mantle of Zero, offered to assist him in locating the Enderdragon, though like most other things she does, Kirika also had ulterior motives. During this arc, Deen and Kirika got to know each other better, with Deen being the very first person to actually see her heart of gold, buried deep down. After Kirika's fight with the Gemini Symbiote, who attacked her for deserting the Zodiac Knights and inflicted upon her the Tsuchigumo Brand, Kirika accidentally revealed her deepest insecurities to him, breaking down and letting her past experiences slip. Definitely surprised that somebody who had the reputation of a sadistic felon had such an insecure and broken side, Deen became more determined to help her- this was the catalyst for Kirika unlocking Blazing Soul and purging Varian from her body, allowing her to become Soul Armour Knight Airgetlam for the very first time. Kirika brushed off his concern, letting off a few snarky remarks at him, though deep down, she appreciated what Deen did for her. It was at this moment that she began to grow feelings for the Rune Knight, though Kirika herself wasn't sure of what these "gooey feelings" were, as her fractured childhood gave her a stunted understanding of love.
After Kirika had achieved her goals of using the Philosopher's Stone to wish that people wouldn't forget her, she joined Tsuruko to fight against Amadam, Kirika unconsciously or not protected Deen from several of Amadam's magical blasts- she was taken out of the battle as Amadam had switched Deen's place with Excellen, causing Kirika to rush towards him and shield his body from the full blast of an Abyss Break. Even so, Deen didn't really understand Kirika's motives for doing so. However, during the Nega End, Kirika was the first person to find Deen and gave him a place to stay- as the group had all been separated due to the force of the world-enveloping darkness that transformed Earth Land. When Kirika tried to kill Alexis, Deen tried to stop the two from fighting- and when a stray blast of Alexis' struck a roof and had Deen's arm broken; rather than fighting on like she expectedly would, Kirika immediately goes to Deen to protect him instead of finishing Alexis off. Even so, Deen was disgusted with her desire to kill, and the two had a fight- Kirika managed to momentarily render Deen speechless with her answer to "why are you so at ease with killing!?" -Kirika left after that. Despite this, after a talk with Giselle Mercury over whether or not power corrupts, as it had nearly done to Kirika, Deen decided to search for Kirika and help her reach the light. Finding her once more nearly about to kill Alexis after her fight with Alexis' Magitek Dragoon, with a gun pointed to Alexis' forehead, Deen was able to talk her down and showed her that she really wished to become normal, as Deen was able to walk up to her and slowly take the gun from her hands.
Overalll, Deen reaching out to her and showing her that she was never alone, and he'd be there for her was what allowed Kirika to really fall in love with Deen, instead of just flipping out whenever she didn't understand what was going on with her heart. Deen is indeed, the only person that Kirika explicitly trusts, and even before their relationship upgrade, she only showed her softer side to him, explained her more sympathetic motives to him, or performs a good deed after talking to him. Interestingly, Deen is perhaps the only person that Kirika will listen to more often than not; meaning that Deen serves a leash to Kirika's more violent impulses; Deen is one of the very, very few people that Kirika respects, and though she normally puts on an air of faux-kindness towards everyone else, her kindness towards Deen is very much genuine, though she tends to get angry whenever she doesn't understand her feelings- with poor Deen usually as the recipient for her fury. Amusingly, she seems to really enjoy teasing Deen—and openly acts lovey-dovey with him, something that embarrasses him.
Tsuruko is Kirika's equal and opposite. The two share as many similarities as they do differences, a fierce rivalry exists between both girls. Due to a meeting the two had when Kirika was fifteen and Tsuruko was seven, where the former bumped into the latter by accident and the latter apologized for Kirika's mistake, Kirika felt disgusted by this little girl, finding Tsuruko weak for apologizing to her instead of fighting her. Evidently, she wasn't in the sanest state of mind in those years, and Kirika simply wanted an individual to project her hatred towards the world on; Tsuruko was a perfect scapegoat, partly because her cheerfulness irritated her, and partly because she hated small children at that point in her life. Even long after that incident, Kirika hated Tsuruko with passion, especially after rumours grew about Tsuruko- there was one thing that pissed Kirika off the most about her; they'd both had terrible pasts where they lost their family, but Tsuruko could keep smiling whereas it just made Kirika angrier with the world. Just the sight of her was enough to send her into rage, which is why she decided to ignore instructions given to her by Joker to just harvest souls and went after Tsuruko and Sion Kenzaki by proxy during Might Makes Right, taking a perverse glee in throwing her around and knocking her into a coma.
However, after Tsuruko awakened Gaiki for the first time and defeated Kirika with the Phoenix Blaze attack during Showtime, Kirika slowly began to realize how Tsuruko was so powerful, though she couldn't fully comprehend it. Interestingly, Tsuruko's beatdown of Kirika seemed to have some sort of effect on her personality, as from that point onwards, her psychopathic traits were massively downplayed. Kirika came to realize that she subconsciously admired Tsuruko and she was jealous of the fact that no matter what happened, no matter how much she was knocked down, Tsuruko would stand once more, as optimistic as ever. Deen even took a mental note that Kirika is "chasing after" Tsuruko and she wanted to be like her. Even so, she still held a dislike for her, as she generally didn't like her personality and she found her voice annoying; though it seemed at times that Kirika would make up reasons to hate Tsuruko. While Kirika claims that she doesn't care about Tsuruko, she does respect her strength and values her as an ally, albeit begrudgingly, but even so, Deen Lhant often has to act as a mediator between the two to make sure they can work together without ripping each others' heads off.
Thanks to their pasts, Tsuruko and Kirika are very similar, but their methods are like opposite sides of a coin; Tsuruko is able to protect her loved ones without killing and is able to stand by their side, while Kirika protects the only person she considers really close to her through violent methods and even admits that she is unable to stand by their side. As she spends more time with Deen, Kirika slowly lets go of her hatred towards Tsuruko, as looking at her through a non-biased perspective and Tsuruko attempting to help her has allowed her to calm down significantly, though she still refuses to call her a 'friend', but then again, Kirika doesn't seem to want friends. Their rivalry, by the end of Daybreak S2 had turned into a friendlier one, with less aggressiveness between both parties, as Deen's influence has allowed her to realize that the ambition she sought was nothing more than an empty pipe dream, and taking Tsuruko's example into account, helped her come to terms with the fact that feelings are what makes somebody truly strong. In Daybreak S3, during the Old World Crisis, Kirika, without any problems, fought alongside Tsuruko and the others, trusting her enough to lend her powers to Tsuruko's ideas, having managed to become confident in regards to her strength in relation to Tsuruko's.
Designer's Notes
Kirika holds the role of "A strong rival"; something that wasn't in Rising Phoenix. However, if I just made her an enemy she would just be feared as the Big Bad yet one wouldn’t exactly call her a strong rival if she was just the Big Bad's underling either. Kirika was always designed as a warped person who invokes the fear of someone you can't empathize with/someone that can't empathize; and even though her first appearances as a psychopath throw off her true nature of a very lonely woman, further revelations of her past will make you feel a bit sorry for her, but it won't excuse her actions; ironically, in that way, you may empathize with her. It requires courage to write a character holding contradictions, yet once I got over that I've decided that Kirika is one of my favourite characters.
The other thing I wanted to base Kirika on was "A Tsuruko that took a step down the wrong path". It stems from the fact that when you think about it, hope too extreme will become the antithesis, despair—mirroring the fact that in the end, the Soul Armour Knights and the Zodiac Knights are the same. Not only that, Kirika and Tsuruko are exact foils, yet also extremely similar. Their fighting styles and Soul Armours are very similar, and their interactions with their most important people slowly but surely begin to change them. In addition, the Kirika/Deen dynamic was born from the fact that as a criminal and a cop, they'd be polar opposites, and yet the relationship is strangely charming in its own way.
Tsuruko and Kirika are both the exact opposites of each other yet still extremely alike. It's for the sake of conveying such a theme in a vivid manner, that she exists. The matter of both resembling in looks may also be an inevitability, if you conform under the idea that outward appearance would grow closer the more the ideology would match.
Kirika was also based slightly upon Eddie Brock/Venom, in his "Lethal Protector" persona- the black colour of the Super Galaxy King was chosen to match the black texture of the Venom Symbiote. Going on from this, Airgetlam was derived from Anti-Venom.
Quotes
"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 this nation will control their own destiny. A world of the truly free, dammit. A world of action, not words, ruled by strength, not committee! 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! Where every person is free to think - to act - for themselves! 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! FUCK ALL OF IT! Earth Land is diseased. Rotten to the core. There's no saving it - we need to pull it out by the roots. Wipe the slate clean. BURN IT DOWN! And from the ashes a new world will be born. Evolved, but untamed! The weak will be purged and the strongest will thrive - free to live as they see fit, they'll make Earth Land great again! ...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. Every person will be free to fight their own wars!" -Kirika Hotsuin, to Tsuruko Sejren, Shining Victory, Daybreak
Kirika is described by the author to be like Kamen Rider Ouja from Kamen Rider Ryuuki; referring to her being the evil counterpart to the protagonist, her homicidal tendencies, her ability to rack up a large body count of supporting characters, as well as her dedication to her goals.
Each arc goes for six chapters. in the third arc, on the last chapter, Kirika is introduced. Her birthday is on Feb 6. If you think about it, three is half of six. So six plus six plus six. This is inhumanly subtle foreshadowing for her nature as Varian being sealed within her belt.
When in kanji, her name is spelt Kirika Hotsuin (峰津院・霧花, Misty Flowers of the Imperial Palace on the Peak overlooking the Tidal Wave).
Kirika's first transformation process into Soul Armour Knight Airgetlam (briefly assuming the Super Galaxy King form before disengaging it to unveil her true Soul Armour) is a reference to most the Cast Off sequence from Kamen Rider Kabuto, as well as Kamen Rider Gaim's transformation from Kachidoki Arms to Kiwami Arms.
Kirika's use of the Crissaegrim is unconventional in exactly the opposite way of Tsuruko's. While the Gaikiken is a spear that Tsuruko uses as a gauntlet, the Crissaegrim is a gauntlet that Kirika uses as a sword.
