Chapter 10 Execute Phase

Upon arriving back in the Outbreak zone, the two girls waste no time and hastily rush up the stairs leading to the rooftop. Chips debris falls down from the ceiling as the sounds of thunder roar shudders the entire building.

Reaching the highest floor, Haru tackles against the last door standing between her and the ongoing battle with Shiro closely on pursuits.

“Lin-senpai!! We’re here!!!” Haru shouted.

The monster that towers over the fence surrounding the rooftop resembles a spider with its numerous eyes,eight razor-sharp limbs, and the giant abdomen coated completely in dangerous spikes. The knife-like appendages strike continuously against the plasma sword, creating sparks of light while the wielder pedals back with every consecutive impact.

But before Lin can even react to her reinforcement, a loud burst of energy alongside a blinding muzzle flash emits from behind Haru. The high-velocity bullet that causes a sonic boom penetrates right through one of the front legs, shattering it into multiple pieces that disintegrate in a matter of seconds.

Using this opportunity, the plasma sword swung in a flash, severing another limb off the monster’s front.

The monster recoiled back, creating space for Lin to finally take a breather, Haru and Shiro swiftly ran up to the sides of her while being on guard.

“Shiro… Haru…”

“Sorry that we took some time, Lin-senpai… Let’s do this together!!”

“Mhm~ try to keep, Haru~”

“I’m sure you’ve had a slight experience in using your Phantasm right? Don’t let your guard down, be prepared for anything the Phantom will use against us!” Lin glanced over to Haru.

“You’ve got it senpai!!” Haru nods then snap back her attention to their target.

Despite being injured, the Phantom stills standing on its remaining legs, it let out a deafening screech and cracked the ground with its limb. Both sides stand on opposite ends of the rooftop back against the flimsy surround fence, awaiting each other's next move.

“Haru, You and I will attack it from both sides, try to avoid its leg attacks as much as possible, and Shiro you provide cover fire from the sidelines” Lin swiftly instructed both of her teammates.

The two girls nod, acknowledging their leader’s instruction as they await the next signal.

“And… Now!!!” Lin and Haru both dash in sync with their weapon ready in arms to the side of the monster while Shiro fallbacks further behind.

A ferocious cry retaliates alongside raining a hailstorm from its body, as the girls close in it ready a piercing leg attack and aim at the incoming Linkers.

Haru’s eye expanded wide as the onslaught of danger approached her at a split second speed, first a rapid swing of her combat knives to parry against the raining spikes then hurling her entire body to dodge the impaling leg that was strong enough to leave a fracture at the point of impact.

This gave ample opportunity, Haru pulled the trigger on her handgun shooting out several high energy blasts out of the gun barrel which tore a huge chunk out of another limb, completely severing it.

“Got 'em!!”

The monster trembles violently even more when a flash of lightning sundered cleans through the multiple limbs at once. Unable to keep the balance it crashes down its sides.

All the while the intense accelerated bullets of Shiro shoot right through different angles of the Phantom’s body, keeping the pressure and distracting for the two attackers to attack freely.

"Alright!! We got this!!" Haru rushes forward and plunges her combat knife directly into the remaining limb, the blade sinks cleanly through. However, when Haru tries to move her knife across even with her grip strength crushing against the handle, it didn’t move a single inch.

"You're... One... T-Toug-'' Before her words ended, her entire body was accelerated upward at a breakneck speed, releasing her knife and herself into the air.

"W-Wahh!!?!?" Her mouth gape open wide.

What lies below her is a bed on deadly lances which would surely seal her fates if she were to land remotely near it at all.

In the spur of the moment, Lin ran up against the fence behind the Phantom before back twirling to catch Haru out of the danger, landing back at Shiro position at the far back.

"Are you alright?!"

"T-Thank you!!! U-Uh..." Haru's eyes opened wide as her body shuddered frantically. She then quickly rolls herself out of Lin's hold.

"Whew~ You nearly become a skewer there~" Shiro said, along with the ever-present smug face.

"Then... Let's keep up the attack it sh-"

An ear-piercing screech sounded through the entire Outbreak zone.

The energy that made up the gray veil surrounding this battle starts to fade and the traces move into a single point, that being the aggravated Phantom. Pluses of energy rippled throughout the air.

The reading interface of the Linker started going mad red as the numbers displayed kept rising to dangerous levels.

The wave of energy was crushing, causing the Linkers to raise their arm to block the oncoming forces.

Amidst the overload of danger warnings, the face of Aiko pops up on a tiny window.

"Aiko-san, what's going on here?!" Lin responded.

"Guys listen!! The Phantom plans to take itself down with you!!"

"Surges of energy around the area are being condensed into a single point which is exactly right in front of you girls!!!" Nodoka's screen abruptly joins in as well.

"The only way to stop this thing is to defeat it right here and now!!"

"Wait... But how does a B-Tier Phantom even do that?!?"

"We'll figure it out later!! For now, the Execute Phase is the only solution to this!"

"So... is it my turn?!" Haru's eyes opened wide once again.

"W-well, we should have you practice with it first since it's - !" Nodoka's feeds suddenly got cut off.

"Just go for it Haru!! The Wolf Phantasm should instruct you what to do and finish that thing before the entire area gets to wipe off the face of Tokyo!!" Aiko shouted loud right into the comms.

"I... I'll do it so please trust in me!!"

"Now that's the spirit!!” Aiko's feeds disappear momentarily after.

"Hey!! Wolfy, you hear that? tell me how and I'll get it done before you know it!"

Before long, a set of instructions detailing the steps and procedure pops up on Haru's interface, the words are also accompanied by a demonstration using 3D images allowing Haru to glance through at a pace.

At this moment, the Phantom’s figure has already begun to expand wide while emitting even more powerful pulses of energy with every passing second.. The film of Alternium that once surrounded the area has begun to shrink at a hastily speed.

Even her teammates can’t say anything at this moment as they continue to block the waves of uncontrolled energy.

Not wasting any more precious time, the girl in the suit starts to rush forward against the energy forces. One hand gripping her handgun with all her might while the other removing the Module that was located in the gun’s magazine, then inserting it into the combat knife's grip that was stowed away on her hip.

"HOWLING, EXECUTE PHASE!!!"

Her eyes lit up in blue, the flow of Alternium energy accumulated at the end of her gun barrel and on her right foot, glowing almost as if it was burning with intense heat. A scorching mark burns into the ground with every step she takes.

The trigger was pulled, sending a volatile energy orb that impacted in front of the Phantom. In a few short seconds, she is right up against it before planting her left leg and roundhouse kicking with the right one.

"HAAAAHHH!!!!"

The force between the orb and her kick clashes together creates a tremendous explosion with all of that power being sent right into the Phantom. By the time her right foot lands back on the ground, the Phantom has already begun to dissipate just like all the ones she faces so far.

As the gray veil slowly fades away instead, being replaced by the orange sky of the sunset that shines over the battlefield as if to signal a victory for the girls.

Haru, barely keeping up her breaths, fell to the ground on her knees as her face lay up. Sweat covers all over her head right before her transformation suit disappears in a blink of an eye, leaving her back in the dark blue school uniform.

"Haru!!" Lin shouted as she sprinted forwards. Shiro follows suit.

Both of them transform out of their Linker state before supporting the beat-up Haru to stand up on her feet.

"S-Shiro... Senpai..."

"Are you alright?! Does it hurt anywhere?"

"U-uh... I'm okay senpai... Just a bit tired..." Haru hardly keeps her eyes open.

"You're pretty good for using an Execute Phase for the first time you know~ Shiro is thoroughly impressed~"

"Really…? That’s great to hear but my body feels really sore though..."

"It's... common to be like for a first-timer. Just rest normally and the Alternium inside should recover your body"

"Oh? That's great to know... Thanks, senpai..."

"C'mon~ Let's go before anyone finds us~ Can't have a headline about some random school girls found here now can we~?"

"Shiro is right we have to move now, there's still some time before the rescue unit move into the area"

"O-oh yeah... about the not-in-public thing..." with both her teammates on each side, they escort Haru carefully back downstairs to the side door they once came from.

Even in her fatigued states, the faint sounds of disarray and trembles of the crowd can’t be unheard. Although, just like in the past, she was able to save a life today.

Arriving at the location where they parked, Riku rests in one of the bike's seats, caressing her little fox's furs. Upon seeing the beat-up Haru supported by her peers, the timid girl leaps off in a hurry towards them. Mochi got stirred up and quickly jumped on Riku’s shoulder.

“H-Haru? W-what happened?! Any major injuries?!?” She fidgets and panics all over.

“It’s all fine Riku… She is just tired from using the Execute Phase for the first time” Lin said with a warm reassuring smile.

“Ah… Thank goodness…” Riku then lets out a big sigh of relief.

“Let’s go already~~ Shiro wants to play her new video game~”

“Right, Right… Just don’t let me catch you laying down in the halls like the last you got a new game to play, Shiro” Lin stares closely at Shiro.

“Fufu~~”

Shortly after, the girls sort themselves on the bikes before riding away from the scene, this time not in a rush like their arrival. It is almost as if they weren't involved with the whole disaster in any way, just like every time.