Blue Strike of the Soulmates

Blue Strike of the Soulmates (朋友のブルーストライク) was a story event in Assault Lily: Last Bullet, starring Kuo Shenlin and Wang Yujia, with Ando Tazusa in a supporting role. It ran from April 30, 2021 to May 16, 2021, and had a rerun in July 2022.

Summary

I… very nearly squandered the words my brothers sacrificed themselves to give to me.
No longer will I lie to myself about how I feel.
Yujia-san. You are, and have always been—
My soulmate.

—Kuo Shenlin, Blue Strike of the Soulmates, scene 4-3

When Shenlin hears of strange swarms of peaceful Huge descending upon Kyushu, she convinces Team Hitotsuyanagi to go there and aid the local naval garrison. Recognizing the similarity of events in Kyushu to her brothers' letters to her, Shenlin searches for the leviathan Huge that killed her brothers and attacks it alone, desperate for revenge. She is nearly killed by its counterattack and is saved by Yujia and Tazusa.

After regaining consciousness, Shenlin runs away to launch another desperate solo attack before the leviathan Huge devastates Kyushu with its massive laser, but Yujia finds her and begs her not to throw her life away. Shenlin remembers the final letter from her brothers, where they hoped she would live on and find her soulmate, and realizes that soulmate is Yujia. She vows to never leave Yujia's side again.

Using a particle cannon built by Moyu and their Rare Skills, Shenlin and Yujia disable the leviathan Huge's laser. Team Hitotsuyanagi finishes it off with the Neunwelt Tactic, saving Kyushu and avenging Shenlin's brothers together.

Plot

Shenlin and Yujia have become close friends who enjoy having tea together in the mornings, but still clash over Shenlin's reckless behavior and Yujia's wavering confidence. When she hears about a strange swarm of docile, fish-like Huge descending upon the city of Sasebo, Shenlin convinces Team Hitotsuyanagi to volunteer for the Kyushu defense forces' request for Lily reinforcements. Yujia notices that Shenlin is behaving oddly, but hesitates to confront her about it.

After fighting off several hordes of Huge, Shenlin tells the others that the events in Kyushu are an exact mirror of those her brothers wrote to her of from the Taipei evacuation zone, shortly before the entire zone was obliterated by the powerful laser attack of a giant, dragon-like Huge that came from the ocean. She fears that the same thing will happen to the city of Sasebo, and convinces the local naval garrison and the rest of Team Hitotsuyanagi to embark on a cruise to search for the leviathan Huge before its laser is charged.

When they find the leviathan Huge, Shenlin commandeers the warship's recon boat to attack it alone, coldly telling Yujia "Don't stand in my way, Yujia-san" when Yujia tries to stop her. Yujia and Tazusa follow Shenlin to fight together with her. As she charges at the Huge, exhilarated by finally being able to avenge her dead brothers, Shenlin is almost killed by the vicious counterattack it fires at her using its tail; she is knocked unconscious and falls into the ocean, after which Yujia and Tazusa pull her out of the water and retreat.

When Shenlin recovers consciousness after the warships return to port, she berates Yujia and Tazusa for ruining their chance to kill the Huge and dooming Kyushu, and insists that they need to launch a suicide attack to stop it at all costs. Yujia yells back at Shenlin that she isn't being herself and would never have suggested a strategy that puts her friends in so much danger in the past. Shocked by the realization, Shenlin runs away into the city of Sasebo to be alone.

Shenlin decides the only thing she can do is launch a suicide attack on the Huge by herself. But before she can, Yujia finds and confronts her. Expecting Yujia to stop her by force, Shenlin prepares to fight, but Yujia instead grabs Shenlin and tearfully embraces her. She begs to know why Shenlin became a Lily in the first place, refusing to believe that it was just for the sake of revenge, and tells Shenlin that killing the Huge means nothing if the two of them can't be together afterwards.

As Yujia weeps in her arms, Shenlin finally realizes her mistake. She confesses to Yujia that the final letter her brothers wrote to her—just before their deaths—expressed the hope that she would find her soulmate one day, and tells Yujia that she is that very soulmate. She vows upon her family's name that until the two of them can live and die peacefully together, looking back on their happy memories, she will never leave Yujia's side.

The two Lilies return to the harbor and, together with the rest of Team Hitotsuyanagi, attempt to devise a battle plan to kill the leviathan Huge before it destroys Sasebo. They are saved by the timely arrival of Mashima Moyu, who has invented a long-range particle cannon based on a modified Asterion—an inaccurate weapon which only Yujia with her Heaven's Measure, when reinforced by Shenlin's Testament, can land a shot with.

Team Hitotsuyanagi sets sail with the naval garrison, and hordes of weak Huge attack as they approach the leviathan Huge. Tazusa keeps the hordes at bay as Shenlin and Yujia use the particle cannon to destroy the leviathan's deadly tail. The Lilies then finish off the leviathan with the Neunwelt Tactic.

Upon returning to shore, Shenlin apologizes to everyone for the trouble she's caused, and asks the rest of Team Hitotsuyanagi if they will become friends with her. Confused, they tell Shenlin that they already think of her as a friend. Yujia asks Shenlin if the two of them will be each other's only soulmates, after which Shenlin, with a giggle, tells her to keep that a secret between them.

Cards

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  "Victory Fanfare", new memoria added in the rerun

Translation

The complete English translation of Blue Strike of the Soulmates can be found here in Google Doc format.

There is also a full set of subtitled YouTube videos by GEHENA Subtitle Labs.