Assault Lily: The Liberation of Niigata: Chapter 5
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Chapter Five
A Ray of Hope
Sanjo was a city located in the Chuetsu district, at the very center of the Niigata Prefecture. It was erected in a flatland surrounded by mountains, and it had been completely infested by the Huge. As such, the city no longer possessed a single inhabitant, and all that was left of it were crumbling ruins.
Standing in the middle of this ghost town were Yoshihara Nanoha, Enomoto Komomo and their respective Legions.
“.... That should be all the Caves in this area taken care of.” Said Nanoha, wiping the sweat from her brow as she sighed in exhaustion.
The pair’s battalion advanced relentlessly in hopes of liberating Sanjo, and through their efforts, almost half of the Caves taking root in the area had already been exterminated. Just now, they had successfully neutralized every Cave in Sanjo’s northern side, leaving their members enthusiastic at the prospect of victory.
Originally, it was Miyairi Fubuki’s Legion that was charged with the defense of Sanjo, and it was for that reason that reclaiming the city was a desire that not only Nanoha, but all of Ryuto’s Lilies held deeply.
“.... Are you alright, Nanoha-sama? With how you’ve been fighting nonstop, your Magie reserves must be running low. I think you should rest for a bit...” Said Komomo, but Nanoha shook her head in disagreement.
“I couldn’t. Fortune is on our side, and it is my duty to settle Miyairi Onee-sama’s score and reclaim this land of Sanjo.”
The severe injuries Fubuki suffered had been caused by an Irregular Huge she had encountered in Sanjo. If Nanoha could bring it down in her stead and reconquer the city from the Huge’s control, Ryuto’s Lilies would surely come to see her as a true hero, and therefore agree to follow her leadership. And with the Garden under her command, every single Lily of Ryuto Girls’ Academy would be enlisted in a coordinated attack against the Fafnir, and the Ultra-class Huge would finally meet its demise.
“Your wish is my command, Nanoha-sama.” Said Komomo, in appreciation of Nanoha’s unyielding resolve.
But just in that moment, they were informed of harrowing news.
“Nanoha-sama! This isn’t good! A Great Cave has just formed in northern Murakami!”
“A Great Cave!?” Nanoha interjected loudly, stirring an uproar amongst the other Lilies.
Murakami City was located in the Kaetsu district of Niigata, which until now did not ever see a Great Cave form within its limits. Further aggravating was the fact that this was the area Nanoha’s Legion was personally in charge of defending.
Receiving a tablet from one of her Legion members, Nanoha inquired:
“Are you sure it is a Great Cave, Tamao?”
Displayed on the tablet’s screen was one Aoe Tamao. She was the captain of Legion Hefring’s Reserve Force, and was filling Nanoha’s position in her absence from Ryuto.
“It is, no question about it. It’s a Cave larger than anything we’ve ever seen appear in the coast, and it already spawned two Gigant-class.”
“How did it appear so suddenly?”
A “Cave” is a wormhole from where the Huge appear, and whenever they spawn as Great Caves, it becomes much more likely that not only the Huge will emerge from it in denser numbers, but that larger varieties will come out of it as well. If left unattended, a Cave may eventually become a “Nest”, which produces Huge at a constant rate
(Don’t tell me this is also the Fafnir’s doing...?)
Indeed, it was likely that Fafnir’s influence had grown even stronger. Nanoha had underestimated its strength.
“We’ll return there immediately.” Proclaimed Nanoha, but Tamao shook her head to the sides.
“You won’t make it in time from where you are. We’ll hold their advance long enough for the civilians to flee, even if doing that costs us our lives, so Nanoha-sama, please remain focused on fulfilling your own mission.”
“But if I do that, then all of you will...!”
Hearing Nanoha’s pleas, Tamao gave her a gentle smile...”
“I’ll be eagerly awaiting you in Valhalla, Nanoha-sama.”
“.... Tamao”
A tear escaped from Nanoha’s eyes.
Tamao was someone Nanoha viewed as her own little sister, enough that she was the one she hoped to one day exchange a vow of sisterhood with. Nanoha could not bear the thought of having to part ways with her so suddenly...
“I’m sorry. Please, tell all the others that I, too, hope to meet them in Valhalla.”
“..... I will. Now then, we’ll leave Niigata in your hands.”
Even after their call ended, Nanoha was completely unable to move. Right now, all she wanted was to rush to Tamao’s side and rescue her, but even if she took one of the armored vehicles straight to their location, it’d still be impossible to reach them in time.
That meant that now, there was but one thing she could do.
“..... Nanoha-sama.”
Turning to Komomo and all of their equally worried teammates, she declared:
“Let’s continue. It is only us who can reclaim Sanjo.”
Though she resumed walking forward, Nanoha did not wipe away the tears rolling down her face.
An hour later, the coast of Murakami was completely engulfed in flames.
The city that once proudly boasted many antique buildings had been burned to the ground by the army of Huge, and as far as the eye could see, Lilies and Madecs alike laid motionless on the floor. And watching this scenery with lifeless eyes was one Aoe Tamao.
“This isn’t right...”
It shouldn’t have been like this, she thought. They were determined to cut short the Huge’s advance even if it cost them their lives, such resolve should have allowed them to succeed.
Yet, Tamao was the only one still standing in the entire battlefield.
Tamao had enlisted the aid of every Lily and Madec still in Kaetsu in order to face the Huge’s horde, and yet, they weren’t even able to reach the shore where the Great Cave had appeared. And the primary reason for that was that the two Gigant-class Huge they’ve encountered were simply too powerful.
“Cyclops” and “Tepegöz” were their names, and they were the one responsible for the defeat of most of her troops. In fact, even when they attempted their final trump card, the Neunwelt Tactic, the pair was able to simply deflect it with no effort at all.
Commanding the Huge armies, the Cyclops shook the Earth as it continued to advance in her direction, and with no possible means of escape, Tamao fell to her knees. The Cyclops let out a shriek, and immediately, five Small-class began speeding towards her.
(Nanoha-sama....!)
But just then, the Huge were met with a rain of artillery.
Engulfed in the light of the explosions, the five Small-class were completely decimated, and the other Huge flinched back, as if expressing their shock.
(W-What was that...?)
Tamao immediately turned to the direction of the fire, and she saw standing atop a mound of rubble one certain gold-haired Lily. In her hands was a CHARM that glistened in silver, and the black mantle she wore fluttered in the wind. Surrounding her was a whitish-blue halo of light that shone like the moon, and almost appeared to come from within her very body.
“Say your goodbyes to the domain you have over this place, because we will bring it to an end”
Behind her, a cavalry of equally black-clad Lilies descended from the skies. Tamao counted them to be twelve in total, but she could still not believe her eyes.
The black and white of their uniforms was unmistakably that of Yurigaoka Girls’ Academy. And the dark mantle they wore was the mark of that Garden’s Legion of legend, one that was known by every living Lily on the planet. It was...
“Álfheimr!?” Tamao exclaimed, and Soraha turned to the girl with a wide smile.
“Are you unhurt?” Soraha walked towards Tamao, and extended her hand.
“B-But why is Álfheimr here...?” Tamao inquired as she took Soraha’s hand, and smiling, the Lily responded
“Byakuren personally asked us to come rescue you and your team.”
Soon after learning of the Great Cave’s formation, Byakuren has asked that Soraha and Yuuna join her as she rushed to the battlefield. Her orders were that “our team will engage the Tepegöz, so Soraha-san, I’ll leave it to your Legion and Yuuna to neutralize the Cyclops in the meantime.” By now, Byakuren’s Legion should have reached the shore where the Great Cave was, and had likely already begun fighting the Tepegöz.
Glancing from behind Soraha, Takasuga Tsukushi laid her eyes on the Cyclops.
“Woah, so that dude’s the boss! Well, it sure gonna have a bunch of friends to play with in a sec.”
“Really, they could’ve just left us to deal with it alone.” Added Tatsuki, licking her lips as she gripped the hilt of her CHARM.
“Wait!” Yuuna interjected, appearing with Marei and the rest of Legion Himinglæva. “We’ll hold off the Cyclops. In the meantime, your Legion should focus on carrying all the Lilies and Madecs to safety...”
Araya sneered at Yuuna’s proposal.
“You’re quite the jokester, aren’t you? Unless you’re suggesting that we came all the way here to Niigata just to fight against worthless underlings?”
“That was a cool one, Araya!” Tatsuki briefly added.
“Both of you, behave yourselves!”
Ichi reprimanded the pair, but as Soraha turned to the other Álfheimr members, all of them had an awkward smile on their faces, as if to say “here we go again.” With an equally awkward grin, Marei spoke to Yuuna:
“It’s probably better that we let them do it.”
Watching the Cyclops with a fierce look, Soraha declared:
“We’ll make sure that thing goes down.”
Her words were tinted by equal parts determination and fury. “Understood”, Yuuna answered, and together with Marei and Himinglæva, she set off to rescue the surviving Lilies and Madecs still in the field. At the same time, Soraha, firmly grasping her Fragarach, urged her Legion mates:
“Let’s get started already!”
Standing by Soraha, all of Álfheimr brought their CHARMs to bear. Noticing their presence, the Cyclops let out a shriek, and soon enough, legions of Huge began gathering at its front from the skies and from behind the buildings.
“The very first battle of our Niigata mission. Let us be sure it proceeds smoothly.”
Araya promptly turned the scope of her Marmyadose towards the enemy troops. Her body began to irradiate a bright stream of Magie, which all collected at the very tip of her CHARM’s muzzle. This was her Rare Skill, “Phase Transcendence”.
“Have a taste of this!”
The Marmyadose fired an explosive burst of light, which caused all the Huge gathering before it to be completely vaporized. And because Araya had reached the S-Rank of her Phase Transcendence, she was still able to continue fighting after its activation.
“Alright, boys, let’s get this party started!”
“Feel free to take a step forward if you want to be killed!”
As soon as the first shot of the battle ceased to resound, Tsukushi and Tatsuki wasted no time going on the offensive. The pair visibly enjoyed themselves as they mowed down the Huge’s swarm, almost as if they were just playing a game with the enemy.
In turn, the swarm began to quickly close in on the girls.
“They’re coming from the air too! God, you suck!” Complained Misora as she began to shoot down the airborne Huge. And soon after:
“I’ve got this!”
With a single, graceful step, Kusumi took to the skies, and with her Laevateinn, she cut down all the Huge in quick succession. Her form and appearance as she danced around would have her be confused with a fairy from fantasy books.
“.... Amazing. So this is what Álfheimr is like.” whispered Tamao in wonder as she watched from behind Soraha.
Just then, a massive explosion erupted by the shore. As Soraha turned to face it, she let out a chuckle.
“Looks like Byakuren is done with the Tepegöz. Alright, everyone, let’s finish things up here too!”
Soraha encouraged her teammates as she cut down a Mid-class Huge. But right as she did, a massive tendril suddenly shot out from below the ground.
“W-What the...!?”
As she scanned her surroundings, Soraha could see multiple similar appendages rising from the Earth in succession. As she noticed this, Ena shouted:
“Be careful! It’s ‘The Drains’! If they grab hold of you, they’ll sap you of your Magie!”
The Drains was an Irregular Huge that possessed a myriad of tendrils. If a Lily was to be trapped in its hold, her Magie would be bled out of her body, to the point that it might lead to death.
Soraha did her very best to avoid the tendrils as she continued fighting, however...
“Byakuren!”
From the comms device in her ear, she could hear the screams of Legion Bylgja’s Lilies. As Soraha and the others turned to the shore, they could see that The Drains’ main body had captured Byakuren, and was attempting to take her as a hostage.
“I’ll get her back!”
Yuuna, who was nearby, ran off by herself in hopes of retrieving Byakuren. However, a swarm of Small-class Huge had fully sealed her path.
“Not on my watch!”
In a one-man assault, Ena quickly slashed the horde of Small-class into pieces with a single swipe of her blade. Taking the opportunity, Yuuna severed the Drains’ tendrils and successfully retrieved Byakuren. However, Ena was now the one encircled by a group of ten Small-class.
“Tch!” Exclaimed Ena as the Huge continued to close their siege.
“Ena-sama!”
Dashing straight into the group of Small-class, Ichi’s entire body beamed with light as she activated her Rare Skill. That was “Divine Dominion”, the S-Rank form of “The Way of The World”. Countless spears of light quickly filled the scenery, and suddenly, all ten of the Small-class Huge had been shredded to pieces.
“Ena-sama, are you alright?” Said Ichi, standing guard before Ena. “Please don’t act so recklessly. Covering the front line is mine and Araya’s duty!”
“Thank you. Truly, I can see why they call you Takana Ichi, the Sirius Star.”
“Please withhold the carefree remarks amidst such a serious situation!”
Smiling, Ena responded with “My bad, sorry!”, and Ichi turned away from the senior as her cheeks became increasingly flushed. In the meantime, Araya, Tatsuki and Tsukushi worked to draw the Cyclops’ attention, while the other members fought off the remaining Huge horde.
“Ena, the path is clear!” informed Watanabe Akane, Álfheimr’s vice-captain. In response, Ena shouted:
“Sora, Yuuna! Let’s split neutralizing the Cyclops and the Drains between both of our teams! We’ll use the Neunwelt Tactic to take them down at the same time!”
“Roger” answered both Soraha and Yuuna in unison.
“We’ll begin the Neunwelt Tactic immediately!” Declared Soraha, and after loading the specialized bullet into her Fragarach, she called out “Kusumi!”, and fired the Magisphere towards her Schild.
“On it, Soraha Nee-sama!”
As soon as Kusumi caught the Magisphere, she passed it forward to Misora, and from her, it continued to travel through Akane, then Tsukushi, Tatsuki, and Araya at near light-speed. Meanwhile, Wakana, as well as Okada Kisara and Mozuna Noa, held off the Huge surrounding the Drains in order to support Legion Himinglæva.
“Ena-sama!” yelled Araya as she sent the Magisphere to her senior. And just as she received it:
“Ichi! It’s on you to finish this!”
Ena then hurled the Sphere towards Ichi, who was at the very front lines. The Cyclops, in an attempt to interfere, began moving to grab Ichi, but she was able to swiftly evade its arm and dash to mere inches away from its body. There, she caught hold of the Magisphere, and...
“It’s over!!”
At point blank, she fired it at the Cyclops. Hit by the clean and straight shot, the single-eyed abomination let out a desperate wail as the spark of its life was snuffed out. Its body then exploded, and what remained of it soon turned into ash.
“.... Phew. Is everyone alright?” Soraha asked her teammates.
With both the Cyclops and the Tepegöz now neutralized, the Great Cave that oppressed the city’s coastline had now fizzled away.
“I’m sorry, the Drains unfortunately escaped our grasp.” Yuuna lamented, highly apologetic. Just before the Great Cave came apart, The Drains had quickly escaped back inside it.
“We got rid of the Cave, so it all works out in the end. I’m much more worried about Byakuren.”
Soraha gave Yuuna’s back a pat, then walked towards Byakuren. She was laying together with the other injured Lilies, and though her own wounds were superficial, she was incredibly pale, and it seemed she wasn’t able to move on her own.
Marei, who had been tending to Byakuren, spoke to Soraha:
“Her wounds aren’t anything serious, but it does seem that the Drains took away a whole bunch of her Magie. I don’t think she’ll be able to fight for a while.”
With her voice incredibly coarse, Byakuren apologized:
“I cannot express how sorry I am. Even after we brought you all the way here to give us aid, now yet another one of our Legions has been driven out of the battlefield.”
“We don’t mind it, really. More importantly, just sit tight there, okay?”
Soraha held Byakuren in a gentle embrace, and from within her body poured out a stream of clear blue light, which flowed directly into Byakuren’s motionless frame.
“So this is what your Magie feels like, Soraha-san. It’s quite warm.” said Byakuren, her face assuming a serene expression as she closed her eyes.
“This should help you recover a little bit faster.”
Soraha continued to share her Magie with Byakuren for a while longer, and once she was done, she made her way back to her teammates, leaving Marei to keep on looking after her. Ena, bearing a stern look on her eyes, soon spoke to her:
“The situation is not good. We’re still unable to reach Nanoha-san and Komomo-san. And with Byakuren now incapacitated, we’re in no shape to go against the Fafnir as it stands.”
“We don’t really have a choice but to hold out by ourselves until Odaiba’s reinforcements come.” added Akane, with a sigh, and an annoyed Misora interjected:
“Problem is these Ryuto Lilies are just too damn emotional! They just went in with no plan, no strategy, nothing!”
“Is it really possible for us to beat the Fafnir like this...?” spoke Kusumi, apprehensively, prompting Wakana to embrace her from behind:
“It’ll be okay, Kusumi-chan, I’m certain we’ll come out on the other end of this, so long as we keep our strengths aligned. Isn’t that right, Sora-chan?”
Soraha answered Wakana’s smile with one of her own, and affirmed:
“There’s still hope in the horizon, and so long as we’re still living, there always will be.”
...
The sun had fully set in the periphery of Sanjo city.
There, Nanoha sat completely still, unable to take a single step forward.
Though she and Komomo had pressed forward on their campaign for the liberation of Sanjo, they had been forced to temporarily retreat after being met with a vicious ambush from a large army of Huge.
“Tamao... girls...”
This was a battle she’d face after sacrificing the lives of Tamao and her entire team, and yet, there she was, unable to recapture Sanjo alone, and forced to retreat with her tail between her legs. She couldn’t dream of looking in the eyes of her fallen comrades in Valhalla in such a sorry state.
“Stand up, Nanoha-sama.”
Coming out of her trance, Nanoha noticed Komomo’s stare as she stood directly in front of her.
“Believe me, I know better than anyone in the world how you feel right now, Nanoha-sama. But even so, my sister’s wishes, everyone else’s wishes, all of those have been entrusted to us. We cannot afford to cease our advance right now.”
Komomo’s words made something click in Nanoha’s mind.
She was right. All of their comrades who had moved on to their next lives did so while leaving behind their hopes that Fafnir would be defeated, that Niigata would be reclaimed, for them to keep carrying on. In honor of those who awaited them in Valhalla, it was unthinkable for them to stop moving forward until Niigata was once again free from the Huge’s domain.
“... I understand. Then let us be off.” Said Nanoha, getting back on her feet.
“Now this is the Nanoha-sama I know. Let’s go get them.”
With the final streaks of sunlight illuminating their backs, the pair resumed their march.
To be continued