Assault Lily Wunder: Prologue
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The Odaiba Counteroffensive
The tranquil sea spread out before Soraha. As the sun shone down brightly from above, she looked out upon the glittering waters that surrounded Odaiba.
“Mmm, the breeze feels great!”
In the distance, she could see the Tokyo Gate Bridge rising above the waters of Odaiba, and the small artificial island known as Uminomori Park.
This had once been the open sea. Then land had been reclaimed from that sea, and homes and businesses built upon it, making it a modern city. The place where Soraha was standing had been a seaport, lined with warehouses and used by huge ships to unload their cargo.
But now, Odaiba was a critical location for defending Tokyo from the enemies of humankind known as the Huge. On the original coastline of Tokyo, opposite the shores of Odaiba, rose the many towers that together composed the Light Wall System—a barrier which blocked the Huge from invading Tokyo from the sea. Though Odaiba is still a place where people live and work, it’s no longer filled to the brim with life.
Many of the buildings that served as fortifications had been destroyed in repeated battles with the Huge. In particular, near the Tokyo Gate Bridge, the ruins of a number of buildings and breakwaters destroyed during a certain battle one year ago were still lying in disrepair.
That battle had been the Odaiba Counteroffensive.
A Great Cave had suddenly opened on Odaiba, and countless Huge had poured forth from it, seeking to use Odaiba as a base from which to invade Tokyo. One of the invaders had been the Ultra-type Huge known as the “Nestless Ultra.” Lilies from Kanto’s most famous Gardens, who had been on Odaiba for the Neunwelt Tactic Technical Conference, had stood in its defense.
One of them had been Amano Soraha, a Lily from Yurigaoka Girls’ Academy.
“It’s been a year already, huh…” Soraha murmured as she continued to gaze out upon the waters of Odaiba.
During the battle one year ago, the Huge had done severe damage to Odaiba’s streets and buildings. The marks of their talons were still visible here and there, but even a mere year later, a number of new buildings had gone up and restored the town to what it once was.
“Humans are really something,” remarked Soraha, looking at the new buildings and ongoing construction.
The Lilies who had fought in the Odaiba Counteroffensive had still been in their first year of high school at the time. But without regard to the many different Gardens they attended, they had combined their strength and fought together as allies.
A voice from behind her suddenly pulled Soraha out of her reverie.
“My, if it isn’t Soraha-san.”
Soraha turned around, and saw two Lilies walking towards her.
“Kiito! Ui!”
The two Lilies were Funada Kiito and Ui, from Odaiba Girls’ School. The two were the captain and vice-captain of Legion Hronesnæsse respectively, as well as twin sisters. Carrying their CHARMs in their hands, they strolled towards Soraha.
“We’ve not seen each other since back in Niigata, Soraha-san,” Kiito remarked.
“Whatever are you doing here?” asked Ui.
A smile rose to Soraha’s lips. “I came to thank Odaiba Girls’ School for your help in Niigata,” she said. “I was on my way to the school building, and thought I’d look at the sea a bit.”
Soraha turned to face the other two Lilies. “Thank you for answering our call for reinforcements during the battle for Niigata,” she said. “If Odaiba hadn’t come, there’s no way we could’ve won.”
“My, how well-mannered of you,” said Ui with a subtle smile. “You’re most welcome.”
“What are you doing, Kiito, Ui?” asked Soraha.
Kiito shrugged her shoulders. “What else but a patrol?” she replied. “It is we of Odaiba Girls’ School who are meant to guard this place, after all.”
“Of course,” Soraha said. “It was like that back then, too.” The memories brought a smile to her face, and Kiito heaved a sigh before she continued speaking.
“That aside, are you supposed to be here? I’m told that Álfheimr has been confined to Yurigaoka on account of what happened in Niigata.”
“Ahaha. So you know about that, huh?” Soraha replied with a wry smile.
Until just a few days earlier, Soraha and the others in the second-generation Legion Álfheimr had been on an expedition to Niigata. There, they had fought against Fafnir—one of the Seven Great Ultra-type Huge—alongside the Garden that protected Niigata, Ryuto Girls’ Academy, and Lilies from Odaiba Girls’ School like Kiito.
During the final phase of the battle, Yurigaoka Girls’ Academy had ordered Álfheimr to immediately stop fighting and to retreat. But Soraha, the legion’s captain, had disobeyed that order. She had instead charged into enemy territory with the other Lilies in a gambit to recapture Niigata.
They had killed the two Ultra-type Huge, one on Sado Island and the other in Lake Chuzenji, and taken Niigata back. As the only legion in history to have slain one of the Seven Great Ultras, the second-generation Álfheimr had instantly become world-famous. Soraha, who had dealt the final blow to Fafnir after previously fighting in the Odaiba Counteroffensive, was now widely celebrated as a hero.
When the second-generation Álfheimr had returned from Niigata to Yurigaoka Girls’ School, every Lily in the school had welcomed them with cheers—aside from the three student council presidents, who had been very displeased indeed.
Though Soraha and the others in Álfheimr might be heroes, that hadn’t stopped the Garden from punishing them. They had all been confined to Yurigaoka and forbidden from going on expeditions. The only battles they would be permitted to fight, for the time being, were those to defend Kamakura Prefecture.
Standing at the edge of the dock, Soraha gazed up at the sky. “Well, that’s just how it is,” she remarked. “I did go against orders, after all. Yurigaoka’s one of the world’s top Gardens, right? When their Lilies ignore direct orders, they’ve gotta punish us.”
“Power doesn’t come without obligations,” said Ui, smiling despite the troubled look on her face.
Soraha shrugged her shoulders. “But I don’t regret the choice I made,” she said. “If I had to make it all over again, I think I’d do the same thing.”
A sudden smile appeared on Kiito’s lips. “Seems you’re taking this well,” she said. “I myself believe that you made the right choice. If I had been in your place, I also would have done the same.”
“Thanks, Kiito,” said Soraha with a smile. At that moment, a shout came from afar.
“Hey, Kiito! Don’t you dare!”
Soraha looked over at the head of the docks, and saw two Lilies running towards them. They were Kawamura Yuzuriha and Tsukioka Momiji from Odaiba Girls’ School. Momiji and Yuzuriha were the president and vice-president of the Odaiba student council, as well as the captain and vice-captain of Legion Heorot Saints.
Yuzuriha rushed in front of Soraha, as if shielding her. “Huh? Yuzuriha?” said Soraha, thoroughly confused.
“Good thing we came to meet you, Sora. Kiito’s trying to pick a fight with you, isn’t she?! She’s welcome to pick one with me!”
“Haah?” Kiito said, knitting her brow. “Does it look like we’re fighting?”
“I mean, Kiito, you hate the Counteroffensive. And then Soraha killed the Ultra in Niigata and got super famous. I knew you’d get real annoyed by that!”
Soraha and Ui covered their mouths as they tried not to laugh out loud, and Kiito let out a sigh.
“What?” asked Yuzuriha, confused. “Did I say something funny?”
Kiito gave her a look of exasperation. “What sort of nonsense about me do you have filling that head of yours?” she wondered.
“I just came to thank Kiito for her help in Niigata,” Soraha explained with a smile, making Yuzuriha’s eyes widen in surprise. “Did you really?” she asked.
“I told you there was nothing to worry about…” said Momiji in a troubled voice. She prodded Yuzuriha in the back, and the girl groaned in embarrassment before bowing deeply.
“I’m sorry! I misunderstood everything!”
Soraha reached out and took Yuzuriha’s hand, squeezing it as she smiled at the girl. “Thanks for being worried about me, Yuzu,” she said.
“Unbelievable,” muttered Kiito, turning her head to the side in disdain. “Counteroffensive this, Counteroffensive that. Every battle we fight against the Huge is of equal importance. The Counteroffensive was nothing special.”
Yuzuriha frowned in displeasure. “Well, that’s not wrong, but…” she muttered
With a smile on her face, Ui spoke up as well. “For the two of you, the Odaiba Counteroffensive is a battle you are right to take pride in,” she said.
Soraha nodded firmly. “Yeah. It’s because of that battle that I could fight like I did to save Niigata,” she said. Her eyes met Momiji and Yuzuriha’s, and the two of them nodded in turn.
For a moment, Kiito glared at the three of them, but then she sighed and turned her eyes to the sea. “If a battle like that should happen again someday, we Funada sisters shall take part,” she declared. “And if at that time, Amano Soraha, the two of us find ourselves fighting together… I would enjoy that.”
“Yeah,” said Soraha. “I’m looking forward to fighting together with you again.” She offered her hand to Kiito, and Kiito took it.
The moment the two made their promise, they heard a distant voice. “Kiito-onee-sama!” Standing at the head of the dock was Shiba Tomoshibi from Odaiba Girls’ School, waving at them vigorously.
Kiito looked over at Tomoshibi, then turned away from Soraha. “It’s time we returned to our patrol,” she said. “Good day to you, ladies,” Ui said in farewell.
But as Kiito and Ui started to walk away, Kiito suddenly stopped and turned to face Soraha again.
“Soraha-san, there’s something you must not forget,” she said. “Which of those among us are heroes—that is something which matters only to those who will come after us. As Lilies, what we must do is fight to protect everyone, and win. That is the duty of all who are strong. So… take care not to let your edge dull. You are well placed to see that it doesn’t happen.”
“Got it,” replied Soraha with a smile. “Thanks, Kiito.” Kiito smiled boldly back at her.
“I expect great things from the battles you’ll fight to come.”
With that as her farewell, Kiito departed to join her companions.
In the afternoon, Soraha headed back to Kamakura, where Yurigaoka Girls’ Academy was located. When she got off the train and made her way to the ticket gate, four Lilies who she knew well were waiting for her there.
“Soraha-nee-sama!” called out Egawa Kusumi, Soraha’s Schild, as she came running up to her. The two of them were sisters who had taken the “Schutzengel’s Oath”, Yurigaoka’s oath of sisterhood, together.
Soraha’s fellow members of Álfheimr—Banshoya Ena, Tanaka Ichi, and Endo Araya—walked up to her as well.
“Welcome home, Sora.”
“I hope you had a lovely trip, Soraha-sama.”
“I’m back,” Soraha replied.
“How was Odaiba?” Ena asked her with a smile.
“Well, they’ve put up a bunch more new buildings…”
As Soraha told them about her visit to Odaiba, Ena said, “I’m looking forward to paying another visit there myself.” She, too, had fought in the Odaiba Counteroffensive.
“Before we head back to Yurigaoka, how about taking a stroll?”
Soraha and the others set out upon a walk, making their way to Yuigahama Beach at a relaxed pace. The landscape of Kamakura’s coast presented a stark contrast to Odaiba. Instead of modern construction everywhere, there was little to be seen except for the empty sand and calm ocean. A gentle breeze was blowing, and the reflection of the afternoon sun glittered brilliantly off the water.
“Mmm! Kamakura’s ocean is just as nice as Tokyo’s!” exclaimed Soraha as she stretched.
Ena let out a sigh. “We’re going to be enjoying this scenery for a while,” she said. “I’ve heard that the student council is now planning to send Lohengrin and Sanngriðr on the missions that they meant to have us do.”
“Have they, now…” Soraha said, with a sigh of her own. “I’m sorry I caused trouble for the rest of you.” She didn’t regret the choice that she made back during the Liberation of Niigata, but she was aware that even so, that choice has had consequences for quite a few of her friends.
“What’s the rest of Álfheimr up to?” Soraha asked.
“Misora and Tatsuki are squabbling, as usual, as they fix up our CHARMs. Aka-nee and Tsukushi are cleaning their rooms. I’m sure you can guess what Wakana-sama, Kisara-sama and Noa-sama are doing.”
“I see. Sounds like everyone’s in good spirits…” Soraha said, as she gazed in the direction of Yurigaoka Girls’ Academy.
As she walked along the tranquil coast, though the battle had only ended just the other day, all the time they had spent fighting fiercely in Niigata felt like it had been nothing more than a dream.
I know this peace won’t last, but I’ll treasure it for as long as it does.
Just as that thought drifted through Soraha’s mind, she heard the sound of someone humming.
“Hmm, hmm, hmhm…”
She turned towards the sound, and saw a girl sitting on a fence by the ocean shore, humming cheerfully to herself as she looked out upon the water.
The girl’s long hair was done up in a ponytail, and atop her head were two red Huge Searchers that resembled nothing quite so much as the ears of a cat. She was wearing the red uniform of a famous legion from Yurigaoka Girls’ Academy. Even from behind, Soraha recognized her instantly.
“Hey, isn’t that…” Ena started to whisper, right before the girl noticed Soraha and her companions.
“WHOA!”
Letting out a shout loud enough to carry some distance out over the water, the girl leapt up from where she was sitting and ran towards them. “You’re back, Sora! Good to see ya!” she exclaimed.
When the girl reached Soraha, she flung her arms around her. “H-Hey, what do you think you’re doing?!” Ena yelled at the girl, her eyes growing wide.
“What’s the matter? It’s been so long since Sora and I have seen each other,” said the girl with a brilliant smile. She stepped off to Soraha’s side, putting an arm around the other Lily’s shoulder.
There wasn’t a single person at Yurigaoka Girls’ Academy who would fail to recognize this girl’s name, nor her face. She and Soraha were both incredibly popular with the younger Lilies.
Her name was Kondo Misaka, and she was the captain of Legion Sanngriðr.
“It’s a stroke of luck, meeting you here! I was just about to go looking for you. I heard you got back from your expedition, so I thought I’d hunt you down and have you tell me all about your time in Niigata!”
“What are you doing out here, Misaka?” Soraha asks, seeing no escape from the girl. Misaka immediately grinned and put her hands on her hips.
“Weeell, I wanted to go to a student council meeting for once and really give them a piece of my mind… but like always, Toki-nee-sama told me ‘You mustn’t do that!’ and chased me out here,” she explained. “Now I’ve got nothing to do, so I was just taking a stroll while looking at the sea.”
Like Soraha, Misaka was a second-year Lily at Yurigaoka Girls’ Academy. She was infamous for always doing things that nobody else would dare to do. Everyone called her “The Uncontrollable Lily”, even the student council, and kept their eyes peeled for her latest antics.
Misaka’s eyes sparkled as she looked up at Soraha. “Hey, forget that and tell me about Niigata!” she insisted. “What was Fafnir like? Are Ryuto Lilies really as brave as they say? Yuuna and Marei sure didn’t give me that impression. Oh, and also—”
“Hold it, Misaka,” Soraha interrupted, trying to stop the girl. “No need to get that excited.” Misaka laughed, her cheeks reddening in embarrassment.
“Ahaha. Sorry, sorry. When I heard about the battle you fought, it just really got me going!”
With sighs, Soraha and Ena shook their heads. Meanwhile, Kusumi and the other first-years were staring at Misaka in astonishment. Seemingly unaware that everyone’s eyes were on her, Misaka kept on talking.
“Oh, man. I wish we could’ve been the ones to go to Niigata and get them out of that pickle. Toki-nee-sama stopped me as usual, but… if you don’t plunge yourself into a hair-raising battle like the Odaiba Counteroffensive once in a while, your edge grows dull, y’know?”
Ena’s jaw dropped. “What are you talking about?” she exclaimed. “All of us nearly died at Odaiba!”
Misaka nodded vigorously. “Yeah, we nearly died,” she agreed. “But we all fought as hard as we could, and we won. That’s how battles should be!”
“I can’t believe how addicted to fighting you are,” Ena said in a weary voice, as Soraha smiled a troubled smile.
“The Counteroffensive was quite something, was it not?” said Araya, gazing at Misaka with rapt attention. “I wish I could have been there and given the Huge a taste of my steel.”
“Misaka-sama, you fought with Soraha-sama in the Second Division, didn’t you?” asked Ichi, standing next to Araya.
“That’s right,” Misaka replied. “Sora and I, we were both in the glorious Second!” Linking her arm with Soraha’s, she puffed out her chest in pride. “Wow!” exclaimed Kusumi, her eyes sparkling as she hovered near Soraha’s side.
“I don’t know much about the Odaiba Counteroffensive except what’s in the records,” said Ichi, her face filled with curiosity. “When all of you fought in it, what was it really like?”
“Hmm, well…”
Soraha and Ena both seemed uncertain how to answer, but then Misaka spoke up. “Want me to tell you all about it?” she asked.
“Please do!” said Kusumi, nodding eagerly in response to Misaka. Though Misaka’s gaze grew more serious, the bright smile didn’t disappear from her face.
“Have I ever got a story for you, then. One about the most amazing battle—the amazing battle that mattered the most—that I ever fought.”
With that, Misaka began telling the tale of the Odaiba Counteroffensive.
The Odaiba Counteroffensive was a battle that happened in Odaiba, Tokyo, one year ago.
Lilies from Kanto’s most famous Gardens fought together to protect Tokyo from hordes of Huge and an Ultra-type, and achieved a miracle in which not a single Lily, nor anyone else, died. For the Kanto region as a whole, this legendary battle was a turning point in the war against the Huge.
Now, watch the curtain rise upon the battle that became a symbol of hope for all Lilies.