[Horikita's point of view]
The blade cuts deep, but there's no resistance. No substance, no blood—an empty void.
I tear the sword free, leaving a massive gash across its chest.
The wound doesn't bleed. It closes.
Black data stitches the gap shut before I can even ready another strike.
Tsk. Useless.
It's like trying to cut smoke. Every attack connects, and none of them matter.
I aim my wrist at the Angel's face.
An azure thread shoots out, sticking to the center of its forehead.
I pull hard, using the tension to launch myself upwards.
Air rushes past me as I soar above the giant. I release the thread at the apex of my jump, twisting in the air to bring the sword high above my head.
Impact Breathing.
My muscles tense, pouring my killing intent into the downward swing.
"Third Form - Falling Sky!"
Gravity and force combine into a single, devastating line.
*FWHOOM!*
I fall through its center, cleaving the face in two.
Landing in a crouch, I turn back, expecting to see the giant crumbling away...
Instead, the black data boils.
*Squelch*
Within seconds, the face is whole again.
"Kotori was right about the regeneration..."
I grip the sword tighter.
I can't seem to use my demonic ki properly here. Like my other half is suffocating it.
I don't have time to figure it out.
The Angel's eyes flash.
Six massive shapes detach from the darkness around its head. I recognize them instantly.
"Giant knives..."
One of the massive blades rotates, pointing its tip directly at me.
It launches.
"Too fast!"
I throw myself to the right.
*BOOM*
The massive blade slams into the platform where I was standing a microsecond ago.
Breaking a portion of it.
I don't have time to regain my balance.
The second blade is already moving.
My teeth grit. My body moves.
I throw myself flat against the left side of the platform, rolling desperately as the massive steel edge shears through where I was.
Still rolling when I see it, already mid-flight, aiming for my head.
Using the momentum of the roll, I slam my right palm against the ground, converting the horizontal force into a vertical launch.
I launch myself upwards, narrowly avoiding the edge of the giant blade.
Too close!
Gravity, even a twisted version of it, reasserts its claim. I start to fall.
The Angel doesn't give me a moment to recover.
The remaining three blades move.
Not one by one. Together.
One plunges from above.
The other two swing in from the sides.
There's no room to dodge. No space to evade.
I can't block this. The mass difference is too great.
But I don't need to stop them. I just need to disrupt them.
I close my eyes for a fraction of a second.
Inhale... Exhale...
Flowing Breath.
Gravity pulls at my hair as I fall head-first towards the platform.
I grip the hilt with both hands, twisting my body in mid-air.
"First Form..."
I release the tension, spinning my entire body into a vertical cyclone.
"...Turbulence!"
I spin.
The blade shrieks—vibrations so fast they're invisible, tearing the air apart.
I don't hit the knives directly. I hit the air between them.
The rapid rotation amplifies the vibrations outward, creating explosive pressure waves that ripple in all directions.
*WHOOM!*
The expanding shockwaves slam into the flat sides of the giant knives.
It's not enough to break them, but it's enough to ruin their trajectory.
The blade from above is knocked off course, slamming into the platform inches from where my head would have been.
The two side blades are blown outward, crashing into each other.
I flip out of the spin.
*Thud*
I land on the flat side of the giant knife buried in the platform.
My knees hit the cold metal. I press my fingers into the surface, gasping for air.
"Safe..."
The cold metal burns against my skin.
For a split second, I instinctively expect the fabric of those sweatpants to protect me—
But they aren't there.
I look down.
My bare thighs are pressed directly against the freezing steel. Right. Just the oversized shirt and panties.
"Focus, Horikita," I scold myself, standing up.
(Look up. Your little engine has done her work.)
"Huh?"
I lift my head.
(Look at the black veins, my little savior... They are disappearing.)
As she speaks, the black lines pulsing across the giant's skin begin to dissolve into mist.
The giant face contorts.
"E... rr... or..."
"Con... nec... tion... Los... t..."
But the black data is still boiling. It's trying to pull it back into the nightmare.
My Demonic Ki is useless here. The sword is just cutting smoke.
(If you wish to save this soul, you must conquer the cage that holds her. Claim the machine. Claim the fallen angel. Make them both yours.)
Claim them...
*Gulp*
Everything becomes silent.
Empty.
The hilt of the sword slips from my grasp, shattering against the metal beneath me.
Stances, breathing techniques, and the cold metal underfoot; even the Profound Inverse Flowing Style forms slip away.
Focus shifts entirely to the android buried within this place, and the fallen angel acting as her cage. Destruction isn't the goal. Claiming them is.
Making them mine.
>SYSTEM_ALERT: CONDUIT_INTENT_DETECTED
>EVALUATING_TARGETS: [SERIES_X_SOUL] & [GUARDIAN_ENTITY]
>HAREM_PROTAGONIST_ALGORITHM: ACTIVE
>TARGET_CONSENT: [SERIES_X_SOUL] — CONFIRMED.
>GUARDIAN_ENTITY: [RESISTANCE_DETECTED]
>WARNING: CONDUIT_WILL EXCEEDS CURRENT ACCESS TIER
>RESTRICTED_ENERGY: [SYNCHRONIZATION] — UNLOCK_REQUIREMENTS: NOT MET
>OVERRIDE_CONDITION: [WILL_THRESHOLD_EXCEEDED]
>BYPASSING_STANDARD_UNLOCK_SEQUENCE...
A sudden, violent heat floods my veins.
>INITIATING_TRI-LINK_NETWORK...
>CHANNELING_DIVINE_KI: [UNIT_ALPHA] + [SERIES_X]
>CONVERTING_TO_SYNCHRONIZATION...
>NULLSYNC_AURA: MANIFESTING
Not the familiar fire nor the divine ki warmth.
>SYNC_LEVEL: 85% [OVERRIDE_STATE_REACHED]
>ROOT_ACCESS: GRANTED.
...What is this?
Looking down at my hands, the world around them... Tears.
Fractures.
I move my hands, and the air cracks.
White light spills from the motion, leaving behind broken gaps where the world should be.
Reality itself can no longer hold my body.
Above, the massive knives reorient themselves.
Three of them plunge simultaneously.
I look at the falling steel, and I just know.
It can't touch me.
Not confidence. That's a fact.
The blades crash down.
But the moment the cold steel touches the white fractures around me, the weapons simply cease to exist. They don't shatter or bounce off; they dissolve into white dust and vanish.
The world feels fragile.
Like I can just step right through it.
The giant Angel roars, opening its massive jaws.
But the distance between us... It's an illusion. I don't need to jump. I don't need to push off the ground.
I just need to erase the space.
"Nullsync..."
The word carves itself into my mind.
"...Flight."
There is no wind. The air ahead of me simply ceases to be.
Acceleration is instantaneous.
A deafening boom shatters the space around me.
My body launches upward at an impossible speed. The remaining knives are caught in the tearing light trailing behind me, shredded into nothingness before they can even fall.
The giant's face rushes into view.
I thrust my fist forward, and my arm passes right through its massive skull.
>PHASE_1_BREACH: SUCCESS.
>TARGETS_PARALYZED.
Then, the heat spikes.
Vision tunnels. Energy drains. Veins collapse. My body burns itself alive just to hold the connection open.
>AUTOMATIC_TRIGGER: REALITY_RECOMPILATION
>SYNC_LEVEL: 1% [CRITICAL_WARNING]